


Just Pretending

by marcelsnaylor



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/M, Holiday, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2019-12-25 11:32:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 41,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcelsnaylor/pseuds/marcelsnaylor
Summary: When Fletch finds himself caught in a lie about his romantic life, he enlists Jac in the role of his fake girlfriend for a week away.Will a week away together, full of wedding celebrations and Fletch’s family antics bring them together? Or separate them further apart?





	1. Chapter 1

“We have a problem.” He said, rushing into her office, shutting the door behind him and standing in front of her as she sat behind her desk. They hadn’t been speaking recently, for no reason, they had just not been speaking. Jac had been working on major operations, getting her name back out there after the effects of the shooting, and Adrian was supporting her. He was supporting her without really telling her. And it worked well that way. They existed together, co-existed, you could say. They were different around one another, Adrian wasn’t so much of a joker, he stepped out of his happy-go-lucky personality into something more serious and caring when he was around her. Jac, well Jac will always be Jac. She is brash and harsh but around Adrian she is honest and sincere, calling her kind and compassionate would probably be too far.

 

“We have a problem?” She replied, looking at him in slight confusion. Confused at the possibility of an actual problem ruining her day but also at his use of ‘we’.

 

“Well, no, sort of. Kind of?” He rushed his hand through the stubble that scattered around the lower of his face, unsure as to where to look in her nearly empty office. Jac liked her items in a minimal setting, everything was folded neatly or put away. The only thing that was slightly out of place was her picture of Emma that was propped up on her desk. Fletch’s office however, well, is the opposite of Jac’s. His is full of paper work, piled up from the last six weeks of work he just hasn’t done, plants, and photos. One photo namely, of Fletch, his children, Emma and Jac on an outing a couple of weeks ago sat in front of his computer which he glanced at every time he sat at his desk. He smiled at it often, maybe too often.

 

“Fletch,” she said, putting her pen down and actually focusing on him. She could see he was stressed and anxious, she didn’t know what, but she knew something was wrong. “What’s happened?” She continued, letting herself care for a moment.

 

“Okay,” he pursed his lips, unsure whether he was really going to go through with this or not. “So my cousin is getting married, she is my favourite cousin, or was when we were younger. She’s invited me down to this big hotel for her wedding celebrations. The meals, the family catch ups, she’s even hosting her baby shower two days before her wedding.” He sighed and sat down on the sofa that faced her desk. He sat his legs apart from one another, leaning forward, still pursing his lips.

 

“So what does this have to do with me?” She asked, interested and amused in his clear state of frustration.

 

“I told them I had a girlfriend.” Her eyes widened slightly. Unsure as to what he was really trying to get across but confident that she had some sort of idea.

 

“No.” She warned as she began to catch on.

 

“Jac, for a week. Please.”

 

“A week? You want me to pretend I am your girlfriend for a week? In front of your family? At a wedding? Around kids? Do you know me at all?” She sighed, standing up from her desk. “No.”

 

“Jac. This is the one thing I need you to do. We will get separate beds, even rooms if we must. Steven has offered to look after the kids for the week, I just really need you to do this. You haven’t even got any electives next week.”

 

He got up from his position from the sofa and wandered across the room, donning his boyish grin. Something Jac knew she couldn’t resist. She rolled her eyes in frustration and irritation, but also slight amusement. She knew it would be possible. Jonny had Emma from tomorrow evening for two weeks anyway, it would be a distraction. She looked at him and they stared at one another for what felt like hours. She ruffled her hands through her hair, thinking about what she was going to say next.

 

“Fine.” She huffed. His eyes widened in surprise and his grin grew wider. She folded her eyes and stared at him in amusement. Fletch relieved, Jac amused. They were both happy.

 

They both knew pretending was as close as they were going to get.


	2. Chapter 2

“I am driving.”

 

“No, no you’re not.”

 

“Adrian. I am pretending to be your girlfriend. I get to do whatever I want in return. So yes, I am driving.” She huffed as she opened the drivers car door. He put the suitcases in the boot and got into the car next to her, folding his arms in frustration.

 

“You don’t even know the way!” He argued, actually irritated at the ginger-haired woman sat alongside him. She rolled her eyes and got out, opening the passenger side and shoving him out of the car.

 

“I’m not going to sit in a car with you for an hour whilst you act like a baby.” She huffed. His smile grew wider and any sense of frustration left.

“Three hours.”

“What?” She looked up at him before she got into her seat.

“The journey. It takes three hours.” He smiled, ducking his head to fit into the low doorway of the car. She grumbled something back inaudibly, folding her arms like he did only moments ago.

 

* * *

 

“Oh and I got a list emailed over of everything that’s going on. Can you believe that?” He laughed to himself, halfway through the journey. He got nothing in response though, only silence.

 

“Jac?” He asked, not wanting to take his eyes of the road but awaiting her response. He took his eyes away from the road however, just long enough to see her using his jumper that he gave her to rest her head on as a blanket. Her eyes were closed and she was softly breathing, a few strands of her bright hair falling onto her face. If it wasn’t for that fact that he was travelling down the motorway, Fletch could’ve watched her for hours.

It was only moments later though that she woke up, sitting up slightly from her uncomfortable position, still holding onto his jumper.

“Oh rise and shine sweetheart!” He chirped and smiled, but she frowned in return.

 

“How long until we’re there?” She asked, mumbling her words as she was still just wakening. He informed her that they were just over half way and that he knew of a short cut that would get them there a little quicker than they expected. She smiled back, her eyes still closed, drifting from consciousness to unconsciousness. Fletch turned his eyes away from the road every moment or so to watch her. He didn’t know why he was doing it. He knew they were friends but he also knew she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. The low sun caught her hair in a way that it never did when they were at work. He watched as some strands shone blonde, brown and bright ginger. Focusing from the road to her, he was truly entranced by her, even if neither of them new that.

* * *

 

 

“We need to have ground rules.” She said as Fletch parked his car at the hotel. He nodded in response, allowing her to continue.

 

“Don’t call me sweetheart. Don’t hold my hand. Don’t touch me in general. Don’t-“ She trailed on until Fletch interrupted.

“You’re going to be my fake girlfriend. I won’t speak to you or touch you in anyway that I wouldn’t right now. I might just need you to smile a bit more.” He winked at her, putting on his boyish grin that he did when he was having fun. Jac appreciated it though, his kindness and honestly. He knew she wouldn’t like to be called pet names or be embarrassed, and he was okay with that. She knew that.

 

As they stepped out of the car they were immediately greeted by a middle aged lady. Her hair was tied up and she was wearing nothing but a dressing gown and slippers.

“Adrian!” The lady yelled, hugging Fletch tightly, laughing and smiling at their contact.

“Mum!” He replied, hugging her back. Jac stood and watched this sort of declaration of love, something she had never experienced from her own mother. As she noticed Fletch looking at her she smiled, not allowing him to see her own discomfort.

 

“And who might this be?” His mother asked, immediately noticing the fire-haired woman standing at the other side of the car.

“Oh, this is my girlfriend, Jac.” As Jac put her hand out for a formal introduction it was shoved to the side and replaced with a hug, very similar to the ones that Adrian himself was famous for giving!

 

“Ah yes, Jac! I have heard so much about you!” As Ms. Fletcher released Jac from her hold she smiled, cupping Jac’s cheeks as she scanned her over.

“Oh, you have?” She asked, smirking at Fletch who looked away nervously.

“Anyways, I’ve brought down your keys to the room, one each.” She smiled, Jac nervously looked over at Fletch realising that their plans for separate single beds might be completely and utterly fucked.

 

“What type of room, mum?” He asked her as he took the suitcases out of the boot.

“En-suite, walk in closet and all of that rubbish!” She smiled. “Oh, and a king size bed!” She winked at her son.

 

Oh shit.


	3. Chapter 3

They’d been there for a night now, fighting between who slept on the sofa and who got the king size bed. Jac won, obviously, sleeping soundly as Fletch rolled uncomfortably on the sofa. Jac had been able to meet with the rest of Fletch’s family, apart from his brother who arrived tomorrow. They had gotten closer over the last day and a half, having two meals with the family had enabled Jac and Fletch to become more personal with one another, yet never breaking any sort of boundary. Questions were raised about the shooting that occurred a year ago, but Jac slid past the questions as if she was a pro, which she was. She diverted the conversation onto Adrian’s childhood, trying to find any embarrassing family stories that she could mention at work and ridicule him with.

 

As they walked upstairs to their room, both tired and quite frankly bored of the incessant conversation, they still managed to argue over the sleeping arrangements. For the first time in forever, Jac gave in. Letting Fletch have the comfort in, what she has to agree with, the most comfortable bed ever.

“How many times did your mum call us a beautiful couple?” Jac laughed as she tried to find her pyjamas in the sudden tidiness of the room. She hated cleaners.

“Honestly, I lost count at five.” He laughed, stopping though to puzzle at the confusion on her face.

“What?” He asked, wondering if all of the family conversation was getting too much for her. He studied the look on her face, wondering whether or not she was in pain, upset or angry.

“Fucking cleaners.” She huffed, startling Fletch but relieving him of any worry that it was something serious.

“What can’t ya find?” He asked, finally beginning to unpack his clothes from his suitcase that he dumped on the floor when they arrived last night.

“My bloody pyjamas!” She folded her arms, scanning the room. She only brought one pair, unaware that people would fucking hide them. She laughed at herself, seeing her mind change from the persona she puts on in front of Fletch’s family to her true self. Ten minutes ago she was kind and conversational, still guarded, but kind. Fast forward to now however and she is irritated by cleaners and her lack of pyjamas.

“Just borrow one of my shirts, or whatever and we’ll buy some tomorrow.” He thought she would hesitate and refuse at the suggestion, yet instead she snatched the light grey shirt and walked to the en-suite.

 

By the time she was out of the bathroom Fletch was already tucked up in the big bed, awake, but drifting off to sleep. She wandered over to the sofa that sat opposite the bed, and she bent over it, trying to lie down without any sort of pain going through her.As she lied down, she rolled over continuously, aching in pain. Her scar was still long and red, it felt cold to the touch and she’d do anything to give it some sort of heat. Her harsh puffs of air and muffled groans didn’t go unnoticed by Fletch, but he was just waiting to see whether or not he should comment.

 

“We can switch, Naylor.” He said, trying not to pity her.

“No Adrian, it’s fine.” She was the most stubborn person on the planet. So stubborn it wasn’t even an endearing trait, it was just annoying. He sat up, rolled out of the bed and sat next the sofa. He tapped the lamp that sat on the floor and raised his eyebrows at her, encouraging her to lie on the bed. She shook her head in response, covering her face so that he didn’t see her pain.

“Look” He said, standing up, “That bed can fit four people, we’ll both share it, just keep to your side.” He smiled, waiting for her response. There was no response though, just a painful groan from her as she laid there, unable to move. He softly tugged at her wrist and pulled her upwards and she held no restraint against him. As she stood up she groaned a little, but rolled into the pillow-filled bed, and curled up. He knew that she had not been taking her medication, therefore her post-op pain four months later.

“Is the scar still cold?” He asked, aware of her previous grumblings about it being so cold it caused a pins and needles sensation at night. She nodded her head and mumbled a nearly inaudible “yes” as he placed his warm hand on her back. She jumped a little, moving slightly away from his hand, but nearly immediately moving back and feeling the warmth that generated from his fingertips through her t-shirt.

 

* * *

 

Monday mornings were always Jac’s most favourite mornings. She used to wake up for the sunrise when she was pregnant with Emma, and she still does it now. She sat at the window seat in the room, watching the colours disperse in the sky. She didn’t want to wake Fletch up with the light, but she just couldn’t help herself. She did make a coffee for him though, so hopefully that would make him less grumpy.

“Why are you awake?” He grumbled, turning over to face the window where she was sat at. He was frustrated, until he saw her. She smiled at him, sat with tired eyes and a coffee in her hand. Her hair was down, it was rarely down. It flowed down her shoulders and parted in the middle, that was his favourite look on her. She looked softer this way, she wasn’t softer though, definitely not. But she looked it. He knew the answer to his own question though, he knew she loved sunrises. He knew she loved prime numbers too. How she’d go through them on her way up and down the stairs every day at work. Weird, very weird. But he liked it, it was her.

  
She walked over to him, placing her coffee down and picking up his, still steaming. She perched herself at the edge of the bed, donning a smile, playing the part of a good girlfriend.

“Here hunny,” she said, “I made you coffee.” She smiled, and he laughed. It didn’t suit her, being the girlfriend type.

“Hmm, funny.” He replied, reciprocating her smile with his. They looked at each other for a while, the way they always do, until one of them looks away and they carry on as if it was normal.

 

“Guess what today is?” He said, sitting up in bed as she moved to the sofa opposite him. She tilted her head to one side in curiosity, hoping for the answer to be something along the lines of nothing.

“Baby shower day!” He smiled. It was the day where everyone was coming together, she would meet his brother, and be surrounded by so many children. She chucked her head back and looked at the ceiling.

She fucking hates children.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

“You know they said that they wanted all the women to wear dresses?” He said, fixing his tie in the mirror. He watched her as she slipped her jacket on over her low cut blouse. Her trousers matched her jacket, greys and whites consumed her body, striking against her vibrant hair.

She looked at him, both eyebrows raised and he smiled, he knew she was never going to wear a dress, especially not to a baby shower.

“Who gives out a dress code to a baby shower?” She remarked, forgetting that this week-long series of events were set up and for his family, but he shrugged it off and actually agreed with his fake girlfriend.

 

“Let’s not divert from the story,” she said, now moving Fletch round so that she could fix his tie herself. She continued, “I have been your girlfriend for a year. You love me very very much, blah blah blah, I am the best thing that ever happened to you. Right?” She grinned, looking up at her fake boyfriend who stood tall of five or six inches above her. He nodded in response, “The best thing, sure.” He rolled his eyes as they left the big bedroom, down to the lobby where everyone was meeting.

“Oh, I forgot my phone, I’ll be two seconds.” She said, letting go of his hand that she didn’t realise she was even holding. He smiled in response, turning his head slightly to watch her leave.

 

“Adrian!” A deep voice shouted from across the lobby. The shorter man came up and hugged him and they exchanged loud ‘How are you’s’.

“Mate it’s been a while. Mum’s really missed you!” He said, smiling the same smile that Adrian has.

“I know, I’ve missed you all. How are you doing anyway?” Fletch replied, getting into deep conversation with his older brother. It was like they had never been a part, and they hadn’t been until Fletch moved to Holby a few years ago.

 

“Still single then Adrian?” His brother said, boasting about his wife who was still getting changed in their room.

“Uh no.” He said, this was the first time he had ever properly had to introduce Jac as his girlfriend, everyone else had already heard of her. “No, I do have a girlfriend.” He stumbled over his words, unsure as to where to go with this.

“Oh, yeh right Ad! It’s okay to make up your girlfriend.” His brother joked, unaware of how spot on he actually was.

 

“Fletch.” Jac said as she came by his side, not realising he was mid conversation, not realising his brother was there. “I saw the cleaners, she mistook my pyjamas as hotel ones and thought they had been there from the previous stay. She called them boring!” She said, angry at the insult from the cleaner but also highly amused.

Fletch raised his eyebrows and formed a huge grin on his face, excited to see that Jac was smiling, perhaps no longer in the same amount of pain that she was in last night.

“Is this..?” His brother stuttered.

“Yes.” Adrian said proudly. “This is my girlfriend!”

Jac turned around to face the shorter man who resembled Adrian almost identically. She wavered a small smile, introducing herself as Jac.

“I though Ad was kidding when he said he had a girlfriend, never mind you! I think I saw you taking the stairs like 10 minutes ago!” He laughed loudly, admiring Jac in a way that was almost too obvious. She smiled in return, accepting his sort of compliment as Fletch grabbed her hand slightly. Neither of them knew why he did that, but they stayed that way for most of the day.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The morning was full of chats with Fletch’s family before the actual baby shower. Fletch had noticed that Jac had been having conversations with a lot of his family, namely the single men. He tried not to watch her as she sipped her water, laughing and smiling with the men, but he noticed and it stayed on his mind. Fletch’s cousin, Laura, who was getting married in two days, the one also hosting the baby shower, came down for the first time. She was wearing a dress that even Jac had no words for. She had to stifle a laugh, and so did Fletch. It was bright pink and trailed all the way to the floor. This was, and Jac found this out later in the day, her way of revealing the gender of the baby. As she stood in the gardens of the hotel she informed everyone of what was happening over the next few days.

In the afternoon there will be small afternoon teas and everyone is more than welcome to stay to watch her open her baby shower presents. Tomorrow would be the wedding rehearsal and the day after would be the real thing. There were more pointless things on the verbal list that Jac had hoped Fletch had remembered as she looked at him talking to a blonde lady in a very, very short dress.

 

Fletch came over and sat with her, asking if everything was alright, ensuring that she wasn’t in pain or bored. Jac denied either of these two things, she was a master at lying. They sat a few inches apart, exhausted from pretending that they were partners all day but they still shared smiles between one another to ensure they didn’t give it away. As they began discussing one of their patients that was sent home from the hospital a few days before they left, Laura came running across the room in a state of such fierce panic her cheeks matched the colour of her dress.

 

“Jac, my bridesmaid’s fallen sick. Like really really sick and she’s gone home.” She said, speaking at a million miles an hour. It took Jac even more effort to even pay attention to what she was saying the first place, her brain still focused on the blonde that had just come over and sat next to Fletch again.

“I need you to fill in!” She said, now this time Jac’s eyes pinned straight to Fletch’s, his mouth slightly open in shock.

Jac had no words, for the second time today. She just sat there, mouth closed, squinting her eyes at her fake boyfriend’s favourite cousin. It was this silence that Laura took as a yes, and explained that she will be given a white dress, not to overshadow the blue wedding dress later tonight. Jac had to give her dress size and other personal details that she didn’t really feel were so appropriate.

 

But she was doing this for Fletch.


	5. Chapter 5

“You said I had to pretend to be your girlfriend!” Raising her voice as they entered their room. “We did not agree on me prancing down an aisle in probably the worlds ugliest dress. Fucking hell.” She was yelling at this point, angry and frustrated that she was going to make a fool out of herself in front of him. And everyone else of course, but mostly him. 

 

“You could have said no, Jac!” He replied, shouting loudly across the room.

 

“Oh yeah and looked like a shitty girlfriend in front of your family. Because that would’ve been the better option?” She shouted. At this point they were just screaming at one another, over something that neither of them really understood.

 

“No, Jac! I told you to do whatever you felt comfortable with! Nothing more than that!” He shouted again. The thing was, Jac was stubborn but Fletch, he hated to lose. Their relationship as friends was bad enough, the non-stop arguing or back-and-forth comments. Yet when pretending to be together, they were sure their argument could be heard from downstairs.

 

“Okay yeh, you know what Adrian never mind, forget it.” She said as she went to cross pass him to take her suitcase. She began throwing things in, his pyjama t-shirt, her shorts, his jeans, her jacket, unaware of what she was even doing, just doing it to make a point.

 

“Oh so you’re leaving?” He said, crossing his arms and staring at her. She nodded her head, mumbling words to herself that she made sure only she could hear.

 

“What was that?” He asked, but when he got no response he asked again, insisting that he got the truth out of her.

 

“It’s not like you need me to be here, you’ve been talking to the blonde girl all night, she can be your real girlfriend.” She yelled. Looking up at him and then back down at the mess she had created in her suitcase. She ran her hand through her hair, frustrated at herself for mentioning her jealousy. Frustrated at herself for even agreeing to come.

 

“Oh yeh okay.” He shouted, “It’s not like you’ve been speaking to every lad here though is it?” He yelled again, continuing this back-and-forth yelling match.

 

She looked up at him, confused at his reply. He caught her eye and then looked at the ground. They’d both just revealed a little too much. A little bit of something different.

 

“You know what? Fine.” She said, unpacking her suitcase and folding her things away again. Neither of them had won this, neither of them had lost. They had defeated one another. She walked past him again into the bathroom and he could hear her turn the shower on.

 

“Fine.” He grumbled as he sat on the bed, trying not to dwell on their first proper argument.

 

* * *

 

They woke up in the same bed again though, it was a silent night. They didn’t discuss much, only saying night to one another when the awkwardness got too much. She still made him coffee though, but this time she left it on the side for him. He noted the difference but tried not to comment too much. She came out of the ensuite in her robe, hair and makeup done the same way as normal. However, in the 8 am light, there was something different about her. Her hair was pin straight as usual, she put her parting in the middle, tucking it behind her ears. Fletch never saw her like that - her risen cheekbones, her blue and green eyes, he never saw her like that. She tried to give him a half smile, and he reciprocated the attempt as he took himself into the bathroom to shower and to change into his suit for the practice.

 

There was a soft knock at the door, interrupting Jac’s train of thought. She was so blind sighted by wanting to be the best that she agreed to being a fucking bridesmaid. All because she wanted to be the best fake girlfriend. It irritated her that she cared even enough to come here, never mind to stay for eight nights, never mind to agree to doing this. She rose from her position on the window seat, making sure her robe was tied tight enough and answered the door.

 

“Jac!” The high voice said, shoving a white dress in her arms. “Try it on.” Laura egged, her makeup all done, her hair only half done. Jac stood in the middle of the hotel room, unsure as to how to approach the situation. “Right now?” She asked, hoping for them to say no. Unfortunately, they nodded eagerly and Jac draped her robe on the side of the bed, thanking her past self for putting underwear on underneath it.

“Where’s Ad?” Laura and the other bridesmaid asked, his newfound nickname grated on her but she ignored it and pointed to the ensuite where the shower had just been turned off.

 

She slipped the white dress on, putting her pale arms through it and zipping it as high as possible to the lower half of her back without any help. It surprised her. It wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t too short. It flowed with her body, revealing all the curves and aspects of herself that she had tried to hide these last few months. The straps were thin and formed a delicate zig-zag pattern at the top of her back. It was slightly loser as it got past her hips, only enough so that it flowed down her legs to the top of her ankle. She stared in the mirror before facing the two women who were staring directly at her.

 

They both showered her in compliments, discussing between themselves how she was definitely Adrian’s type.

 

“Ad!” Laura shouted, “Come in here!” It was at this point that Jac dipped her head, looking at the ground. She had completely forgotten that she was going to be seen in public like this, that she was going to be seen by Fletch like this.

 

He came out of the ensuite fully clothed in his black and white suit, staring at the cuffs of his jacket. He looked up at Laura to give her a smile but was immediately side-tracked by the woman facing away from him. Jac turned her head over her shoulders to face him, tucking stray strands of hair behind her ear. She stared at him in his suit, trying not to blush as he stared back. His mouth opened slightly, seeing Jac this way was something could barely comprehend.

 

“Don’t just stand there Adrian! Tell her how beautiful she looks!” The other bridesmaid said, wearing a similar dress that didn’t fit as well as Jac’s did.

 

He moved slowly from the ensuite doorway to where Jac was standing. There was still a tension between them, a tension that no one other than themselves could explain. He wrapped one arm around her waist, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

“You look beautiful.” He whispered in her ear, loud enough so that the others in the room could hear it too.

 

“You guys make a beautiful couple.” Laura said. Jac smiled at the ground, Fletch doing the same thing.

 

“We’ll see you in reception in five?” She said as she and the bridesmaid turned and left.

 

Fletch immediately removed his arm from Jac’s waist, focusing again on the cuffs of his jacket. Jac stared at herself in the mirror, trying to catch a glimpse of her back.

“Everything alright?” He asked, stopping Jac in her motion as he stood up. She walked over and grabbed her phone and room key, opening the door.

 

“Yeh.” She mumbled, walking out of the room down to reception. Fletch followed, reciprocating her tone and harshness, “That’s alright, won’t bother asking next time.” As he slammed the hotel door behind him and they made their way downstairs with Fletch five feet behind Jac, neither of them saying a word to one another.


	6. Chapter 6

The wedding rehearsal was long and boring. Jac and Fletch had barely said one word to each other, their acting skills really would give away their big secret if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone’s attention was on the bride and groom. Fletch had been mingling with the blonde girl again but Jac tried not to notice. Jac had been mingling with a couple of Fletch’s friends, but similarly, Fletch tried not to notice.

 

The night went on, rehearsing the same steps, the songs, the speeches, the outfits, the talking and the meals. The only one not dressed for the occasion was the bride, who had chosen to stick to tradition and not let the groom see the dress before the actual wedding.

 

By the time that Jac and Fletch had got home, they were both exhausted and painfully sober. They climbed into their bed, an invisible wall built between them both so that they didn’t accidentally touch. They barely even breathed. Jac was grateful Fletch wasn’t a snorer, not that it could make much difference to her sleepless nights. She tossed and turned, the pins and needles ran up and down her back like a spider. It wasn’t until she was becoming agitated and restless that Fletch placed his hand on her back again. She was still wearing his t-shirt and was still holding the jumper that he gave her on the journey up here. They were mad at one another, furious even, but they didn’t really know why. Jac was angry at herself, Fletch was angry that Jac was angry. But that didn’t stop him caring. So he placed his warm hand on her back, softly on top of her scar over her t-shirt and within minutes she was fast asleep.

 

When she woke up, Fletch was already sat upwards, reading the newspaper. As she sat up and turned to face him she realised he was doing the crossword, a cup of coffee in one hand, the newspaper in the other and the pen in his mouth. His eyes were focused, squinting on one of the clues that were given. She placed her glasses on her face, trying to read the clue for the one he had left without him realising.

 

“Kakapo.” Jac said, proud of herself for figuring it out. “Nine down is Kakapo.”

“No it isn’t.” He huffed, facing the newspaper away from her.

“Yes it is.” She leaned over him, pointing to the spaces and how the letters all fit together. “A type of flightless bird is a Kakapo.”

 

His breath smelt like coffee and Sundays, the calm of them both. She had dreaded waking up next to him but just this morning they had said more to one another since their argument. The morning commenced with small chats and then the chaotic realisation that they had to be at the Church by 11am, they only had an hour.

 

As they both rushed to get ready, Jac slipped on her dress, Adrian fitting his suit. He’d asked her to do his tie, and she agreed, asking in return for him to zip up her dress. The zip was low, only reaching to the lower half of her back and the straps at the top only covered about five centimetres of her back. She kept turning around, trying to see her back in the mirror. He came over and placed his hand on her scar, making her jump a little. He knew that she didn’t want any questions, she didn’t want anyone to notice the flaw that ran down her spine. They stood there for a moment, just pretending. Just pretending that they were together, just for a moment. He lifted her bright hair and let it fall down her back, tucking a few strands behind her ears, the same way she wore it yesterday. Quickly, their bodies fell apart. They were back to Jac and Fletch, nothing more and nothing less as they separated in their room. Eager to not be late, they made a conscious effort to be at reception for the cars, waiting for everyone else.

 

They made a convincing couple, even when the didn’t even know where they stood as friends. He placed his hand on her back as they walked or she held his hand. They alternated between the two, sharing smiles and small conversation when around the family and friends.

 

* * *

 

Fletch was sat at the front of the hall, watching as the bridesmaids came out one by one. Women he had never seen before walked down the aisle, donning similar dresses to Jac’s, but none quite so beautiful. The last bridesmaid was Jac. Everyone stared as she came down, walking flawlessly into her spot next to the groom. She had nearly taken the attention away from the bride, who was wearing a bright blue dress, trailing behind her and linking with her veil. As the ceremony commenced, Fletch heard mutterings about Jac from the men behind him, but he was too focused on her to listen. He marvelled at her, watching every breath she took, every smile she gave and he didn’t even look away when she noticed he was staring. She tilted her head at him, unsure as to what he was looking at, or what he was thinking. He didn’t really know. All he knew was that she was beautiful.

 

This continued throughout the ceremony, they made subtle faces to one another as the bride and groom read out their vows, promising their lives and hearts to one another. Questionable promises made the duo laugh, smirk and stare at one another, until Jac had to lead the bridesmaids out of the church.

 

Fletch continued to watch her as she clapped and smiled when the newly weds came out of the church. Small rose petals landed on her shoulders, pieces of confetti in her hair. She was smiling now, truly smiling. Not at anything in particular. She hated weddings, she didn’t really like people and she wasn’t so fond of her current attire. But she was smiling none the less, and Fletch smiled too.

 

* * *

 

 

That evening, after spending most of the time after the ceremony trying to find out where they were going to be sitting for the meal, they finally sat down. Jac was sat next to Fletch and surrounded by people who she knew to be his brother, his sister-in-law, his auntie and uncle, his grandmother and one of his younger cousins. The conversation throughout the meal was pretty mundane, everyone stopping to hear speeches from the bride and groom, as well as the best man. Jac and Fletch tried to amuse themselves, discussing the cases they had to get back to next week, organising some of the surgeries that Jac needed Fletch to help with.

 

By the time the best man’s speech had ended, conversation began to flow between all the guests. Everyone was intrigued as to how they all knew the bride and groom, despite all being from the same family.

 

“So Fletch,” his grandmother asked, “How did you meet Jac?” Fletch paused for a moment, unsure how to answer that question.

“Oh we work at the same hospital and have done for a few years now.” Jac answered for him. “He probably can’t even remember!” She smiled, trying to take the attention away from themselves.

 

“No.” He said, “I remember exactly.” Jac watched him carefully. They hadn’t planned this, they hadn’t created a scenario or answer for this. His grandmother gave him a nod to continue and he pursed his lips before doing so.

 

“I worked at the hospital on a completely different ward for years before I began working with Jac. I actually had an interview for the Director of Nursing but there was an accident that brought Jac down to my ward. Jac’s a heart surgeon, the best one in the country.” He smiled proudly, and everyone looked at her, slightly shocked at this blatant revelation. They had all tried to keep it under wraps that they knew who she was, that they’d seen her on the news, her face cropping up in their minds as the shooting was discussed with friends and families, months after it even occurred

“And I was terrified of her. She was bossing us all around and she asked for me to assist her in theatre, which I did. But it was before that, or maybe even afterwards, I think. I couldn’t really pinpoint the moment when, but I looked at her and I thought, ‘you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen’. Her hair was even longer then, and she was wearing her dark navy scrubs and she has this pinky-red scrub cap that she won’t operate without. She’s always been beautiful though. There was a time when we were sat in her office and she was just eating pizza. Literally just sat there. And it was kind of dark, the room was lit by a couple of lights and she was laughing and talking whilst going through really intense patient notes. And she was just sat there. And I knew then, I knew I was falling in love with her.” He smiled. The table fell silent and Jac looked at the ground, smiling. It was all true. He didn’t make that up, the pizza, the notes, the laughing.

  
  
Everyone erupted into comments of how beautiful that story was, and Jac smiled at them all. He kissed her cheek and she smiled again. She knew this was all pretence. She knew none of this was honesty. But it was getting dangerously close.


	7. Chapter 7

After more speeches commenced and all three courses of food were eaten, Jac grabbed Fletch’s hand and led him to the empty corridor further away from the noise of the wedding reception.

 

“What was that?” She asked, her voice raised slightly, her arms folded across her body.

 

“What?” He laughed, he knew exactly what though.

 

“I knew I was falling in love with her!” She yelled now, frustrated that the story itself was true, unsure now whether the feelings were.

 

“I’m just pretending Jac. That’s what we’re here to do!” He replied. “I’m sorry if it was too close, I’ll stop.” He huffed, placing one hand on her shoulder.

 

“No,” she said, “it’s fine, you were just pretending.” She continued, “I haven’t been acting like the best fake girlfriend so, let’s just pretend!” She smiled, the same smile she had when she was enjoying something a little too much. He smiled back at her, unaware that she had a super ulterior motive. She knew how much he’d done for her, and she was always grateful for it, regardless if anyone knew or not. But she wanted to work out if he was pretending or not.

 

They sat back down at the table, hand in hand, laughing like nothing had happened. They discussed more mundane conversation with his family, Fletch engaged in this chatter whilst Jac sat and watched it all happen. The room was large, like a hall. The tables were dark blue and white, the moon was bright and it shone on the bride and groom who were still trying to control the chatter of the room, interrupting it with small speeches every now and again.There was something incredible at this moment, she felt invincible. Ironic as she had spent the last year and a half under general anaesthetic, convincing everyone she was going to die. She didn’t, though. Fletch tried his best not to doubt her, he knew that she was the strongest of them all, but for the number of times she had flatlined, his hope did start to waver. She felt invincible now though, sat in the room with all of Fletch’s family, so interested to hear about her job, how they fell in love. She couldn’t answer the ones about love, she didn’t know much about it at all. Fletch took control of those ones, making up some not-so-distant from the truth lies about their romance. She was irritated though, by the open back of her dress. When her hair fell in front of her face and over her shoulders she knew that her scar was on show. Some people noticed, some gave her strange looks, some tried to ask questions about it. Fletch always knew what to say, or what to do. He covered her scar with his hand as they sat down. She was relieved that he did this, she was irritated by the pity that she received, the sympathy and the empathy. He tickled his fingers down her back every now again when the pain from sitting for so long was starting to cause that same sensation down her scar. His fingertips were gentle and warm.

 

“Time for the bridesmaids speeches!” A low voice spoke, catching Jac and Fletch’s attention. She sat there, trying to avoid the possibility of having to get up. Laura caught her eye, smiling sympathetically, encouraging her to join the others in their pre-planned speeches.

“Just follow their lead.” Laura whispered to Jac, catching a glimpse of the scar down her back but disregarding it.

 

Jac made eye contact with Fletch again, who put on his boyish smile and gave her two thumbs up, Jac tilted her head in return, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. Each of these speeches were long, and boring. They all discussed what love meant to them, how they had found and lost love. Luckily for Jac, she had to make up speeches all the time. She was basically a pro at all of this. As it came to her turn, the best man passed her the microphone, which she kindly declined before beginning.

 

“I nearly died, several times over the last year.” She began, eyes raised to her from across the room. Fletch sat there, wondering what the fuck had just got into her. Why she was revealing this, why she was even broaching the subject.

 

“A lot of you have noticed the scar on my back, tried to not ask questions or look too interested in the story. You all saw the news, how I am the ‘best cardio surgeon in the country’ but was shot. I know. I love my job, I love my daughter, I love being able to live. But love, true love is different. You can love your friend, love your daughter, love your family and love your partner. They’re all different types of love. I don’t talk much about love, I don’t talk about anything like that really. But I know that it’s not dream holidays, it’s not paradise and it’s not heaven. Love isn’t a process of engagement, marriage and kids. That’s what comes with love. Love is waking up to coffee in the morning, sitting and working out the crossword or pointing out that nine down is ‘Kakapo’, a flightless bird.” She said, everyone releasing a small laugh at the simpleness of her example. Fletch’s eyes locked onto hers though, he knew exactly what she was doing.

“It’s sitting by your side in a hospital bed, whether or not you are conscious to know that they’re there. Love is knowing that they’re there.”

 

The whole room sat silent, watching her has she let a sigh of relief out of her body, enabling her to lose all the adrenaline and realise what she’d just said. Before she could though, the whole room erupted into applause, chatter and cheer. Fletch sat there, not clapping, not moving, not looking. As she sat down at her table, she watched his eyes dart down, back and forth across the table, trying to find anywhere to look but at her.

 

“That was a beautiful speech!” His grandmother said, wiping the corner of her eye a little. Jac just smiled at her, she had nothing left to say really, nothing left to do. She placed a hand on his thigh though, but he moved it off with his hand, only for her to replace it again. He left it there this time, unsure of his next move, unsure of hers.

 

They spent most of the night like this. Jac still playing the perfect girlfriend, Fletch less interested in it but trying to keep the facade. He couldn’t get that image out of his head. Jac stood there, the moon hitting her like a spotlight in a theatre. The way her hands moved as she spoke, how she bit her lip when she paused, trying to reassure herself. How she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen and pretending to be in love with her was becoming too difficult. Though for Jac, she played her part. Maybe too well. She kept her hand on his thigh throughout the rest of the speeches and conversation, tapping her finger tips on his black trousers every so often when she got bored. When he was deep in conversation she would raise her hand slightly up his leg. Only millimetres, but he noticed. He felt her hand rise and he tried to catch her attention to warn her that she had to stop. She needed to stop. Every time though, she looked away. Her attention being caught by something else, something less interesting than what she was doing. The point of her heel tucked under his leg, rubbing slightly against his ankle, diverting his attention away from the conversation. He let out a low cough, mumbling something under his breath, unable to catch her attention. He moved into her, looking directly at her, finally able to catch her attention.

 

“What are you doing?” He whispered in her ear, his voice was low and frustrated, some could even call it angry.

“Just pretending!” She smiled, keeping her hand on his thigh.

 

He did the same, placing his warm hand on her bare leg. She had been given another dress to change into, it was the same pattern, same style, just shorter so that the bridesmaids could dance a little easier. Even though Jac never would. His warm hand startled her, his fingertips tapping up and down like hers did. He smiled a cheeky grin at her, turning it into a darker smirk once she realised what he was doing.

 

Two could play at that game.


	8. Chapter 8

They spent most of the evening like that, acting like the perfect couple. Fletch gushed about his gorgeous girlfriend, Jac smiled and laughed along. They were so convincing and the lines between reality and false truths were being blurred.

 

The night continued with dances, chatter and random couples sneaking in corners to share not-so-secret kisses. They were only apart when Fletch had to go and dance, leaving Jac there with his brother and wife. His wife, who she later learned was called Estelle, disappeared into the darkness of the dance-floor, leaving Jac and Rob alone at the table.

 

“How is he?” He asked, nodding to the dance-floor. “How’s Adrian?”

 

“He’s okay,” She said, knowing that he was referring to the loss of Raf during the shooting. “He has his moments but he’s tough for his kids.” She smiled, swirling her water in her tall glass. She didn’t drink alcohol that much anymore, since the shooting she stayed away from anything that could cloud her judgement. He continued the conversation, inviting her and Fletch down to breakfast tomorrow morning at the cafe down the street. She nodded and said she’d check with Fletch but that she was sure it was fine. She hated breakfast, nearly as much as she hated brunch.

 

A couple of people ran up to the two sat at the table, exchanging pleasantries. They rushed them to the dance-floor as the first dance commenced. They were twirling around the floor, her same bright blue dress catching on the wooden floor. The song was odd, she didn’t recognise the words or the tune, but was attempting to clap along and smile with everyone else. Slowly, couples joined in. The song slowed as she watched everyone slowly pile into the same area.

 

“Could I have this dance?” Fletch asked, moving in front of her from no where, his hand out and his grin wide. She nodded in response, making sure that they weren’t anywhere near the middle of the floor. He brought her close to his chest, their hands interlinked and his other wrapped around her waist.

 

“We’re going to breakfast tomorrow.” She mumbled into his chest, giving him the finer details of tomorrow’s events.

 

“Oh and you said yes?” He laughed, looking down at her. She rolled her eyes, trying her best not to look up at him. The song felt like it went on forever, they stood there, swaying side to side. Her hands played with his hair a little, moving from her rigid position on his shoulder. He moved his hand up and down her back, over the scar, never singling it out or focusing on it.

 

“You look beautiful.” He muttered under his breath, too scared to say it to her face, too scared to say it loud enough. She heard it though, his mumblings. As the song died down, they stood there for a while, unsure as to where to go next. She let go of his hand, and he let go of hers. They walked back to their table, full of people again and Fletch still had one arm around her waist, holding her possibly a little too close. The games began again, she placed her hand on his thigh, tapping her fingers up and down as conversation ensued. He did the same, placing his finger through the little gap at her waist in her new dress. His warm finger touched her cold and pale skin and sent shivers through her. This human contact was something they hadn’t had in so long. Everyone around them were drunk, the probably only sober two in the darkness of midnight. Their games continued, fuelled as if they were drunk when really they had no excuses for their dangerous behaviour. Her hand raised nearly too far, Fletch caught his breath and looked away, trying to take his mind off of her actions.

  
She looked at him, her eyes still as bright as ever, her hair falling the same way. She smiled at him, her hand not moving from her position, Fletch’s arm trapped behind her back and the chair. She began tapping her fingers again, smirking at him, knowing she was really pushing it. He removed his arm from behind her, causing Jac to jolt forward a little. He stared at her again, grabbing her wrist and walking through swarms of people to the back of the room. She followed him, unsure of whether he was happy or angry.

 

“You have to stop.” He said, moving her in front of him. She placed her hand on the wall behind her, trying to steady herself after the pain from her heels began to take its toll on her back.

 

“I’m doing what you were, just pretending.” She explained, not understanding where this anger and frustration was coming from.

 

“You’re just pretending?” He asked, moving a step closer to her, aware of the number of people that were swarming behind him, dancing like nothing else mattered.

 

She nodded in response, his demeanour changed. He was frustrated but still soft. He would never hurt her, ever.

 

“Fine, let’s just pretend.” He said, walking forward, forcing her to walk into the wall. He looked at her, admiring her green eyes and how the colour flowed into a pool of blue. He cupped her cheek and with an instant pressed his lips onto hers. She stopped for a moment, wondering whether this was real or not. It was real. She kissed him back, softly. No boundaries were broken, no lines crossed, the rules only slightly bent. They separated and she looked at him, and he looked away from her.

 

“Pretend.” He said, walking away. He left her there at the wall, unable to move, think or process.

He never cared, he was just fucking pretending.

 

* * *

 

 

She wandered back to the hotel room, unlocking it and sat on the bed. She couldn’t move anymore, she couldn’t pretend anymore. She just sat there, in a white fucking dress, in her white fucking shoes. She moved to the bathroom though, tying her hair up and taking her shoes off. She was exhausted.

 

It wasn’t long after that when Fletch unlocked the door, waiting to hear some sort of movement from Jac. He heard nothing though, assuming she had gone somewhere else. He began to take off his jacket and unbutton his shirt, revealing a much more toned body than one may have thought. She appeared in the doorway, her hair parted differently now. It had got more wavy as the night went on and it had parted itself over to one side, her glasses sitting on the top of her head. She was wearing one of his t-shirt’s again, still angry at the lack of her own pyjamas. She’d kept her underwear on though, in her own attempt to keep things on a platonic level, one that was currently being destroyed. He turned around to face her, standing in nothing other than a pair of boxers and socks. She stood there watching him, her back pressed up against the wall, arms folded.

 

“Uh,” he paused, unable to process his current situation. “Where did you go?”

 

She stood there, making sure her eyes didn’t drop too low, working so hard to make sure.

“Here.” She said. Her tone was the same as at work. She’d transformed back into Ms. Naylor, she’d shut him out again.

 

“Why didn’t you come back?” He asked, unaware that his actions may have caught something in her. She didn’t know where to move, for the millionth time this evening.

 

“I think it’s clearly obvious why.” She was raising her voice again, another one of their arguments already brimming.

 

“Because I kissed you?” He asked, trying to keep his voice lower. It was just gone midnight, maybe around one in the morning. They could still here the music from downstairs. It was an irritating sound, since they were both so painfully sober.

 

She just stood there, not looking at him and not answering him.

 

“No, Jac. Is it because I kissed you?” He raised his voice, he needed and answer from her, he needed the truth from her.

 

“You can’t go round kissing people when you don’t mean it.” She shouted, her hands moving around as she got more frustrated, unaware that every time she did so, her shirt rose higher and higher.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because that was one of our rules!” She yelled, trying to keep it all together, slowly falling apart.

 

“So was no touching, Jac. You broke the rules first.” He yelled back. He was angry and frustrated and he couldn’t understand what was going on.

 

“Oh right because touching your leg is just like kissing you right?” She pushed him further. He knew that everything she did set something off within him.

 

He stepped towards her, they were still either side of the room, they couldn’t reach out an touch each other.

 

“You don’t get it. You never fucking get it.” He yelled, fighting with himself.

 

“Get what, Adrian? I don’t think there’s much to get. You do this. You do this. You date women, you sleep with women. What about Tess? Screwing her behind your wife’s back? What about Abigail? When I was gone? What about these girls and dates you talk about, the fun and the sex? Five or six girls. This is what you do.” She’d done it. She’d said everything she had to say to him. Nearly everything anyway.

 

“You don’t get to talk to me about my wife. You weren’t there!” He roared, taking a step back, trying to calm himself down.

 

“So tell me, Adrian. What don’t I fucking get?” She said, still in the same position that she’d always been in.

 

“That you touching me is nothing. You think it’s nothing?” He said. His voice still raised but considerable quieter.

 

“It’s just pretend, right. It’s just another girl touching your leg.”

 

“It’s you. When you say my name, bubbles and butterflies float in my stomach. When you look at me, when you fucking look at me?” He said, losing control of everything ever wanted to say.

“When you fucking look at me, my heart buzzes. This loud, non-stop, painful buzz that reminds me that i’m alive. You being around me, hurts me. You are smart and funny and so beautiful that it hurts me.” He took a few steps towards her, watching her trying to make sense of the situation and everything he was saying.

 

“When you touch me.” He breathed out, “It feels like this.” He kissed her cheek and placed a hand on her bare arm. He had forgotten that he was only in boxers, he had forgotten that he was even saying this.

 

Her heart started racing as he kissed her neck and collar bone, biting her ear a little, whispering “It feels like this.” He placed his free hand on the inside of her thigh, high enough, but not too high. She caught her breath in her throat, beginning to understand what he was saying, what he was feeling.

 

“Adrian.” She groaned a little and he released her from his grip. He stood above her, breathing heavily, pushing her into the wall.

 

“That is what it feels like when you touch me. That is what it feels like. It hurts and it’s painful. It feels like fire.” He whispered, she closed the gap between them, attaching her lips to his. She didn’t know what she was doing but she knew exactly why she was doing it.

 

They moved in sync with one another, hands creeping, voices moaning, boundaries completely and utterly crossed.

 

She pulled away from him, trying to regulate and process everything.

“Are we pretending?” She asked, staring at

him. They hadn’t closed the blinds, so everyone could be watching them for all they knew.

 

“No. I’m not.” He said, pushing his lips back down to hers. He kissed down her neck to her collarbone, his hands fondling the waist bands of her pants. He stopped though, knowing that nothing was meant to go further than this. Not tonight.

 

She understood, and she was glad. They crawled into bed, Jac falling asleep with Fletch’s hand on her back. This time though, his hand wasn’t on her t-shirt, but under it, heating up her skin from direct contact.

 

And they slept like that. Just like that.


	9. Chapter 9

Jac woke up first, fumbling and patting her hand around the bed to try and find her phone. Her eyes widened as she looked at the time; 9:04am. Jac seemed to remember that they had to be at this cafe at 10 for the family breakfast. She turned her head towards the body next to her, completely tucked under the covers, his eyes shut tight. She didn’t want to wake him, just incase that everything that happened last night wasn’t real or that he’d wake up and regret it all. Regret kissing her, regret telling her everything he thought. She regretted some of her words though, what she said about Tess Bateman and his wife, what she’d said about Abi. She chose to get out of bed, have a shower and get ready before waking him up, praying that maybe things would be okay. Would they go back to how they were last week? Or last night? Or was it all just a very sober mistake.

 

She shook her head and tried to distance herself from the thoughts that were creeping up on her. She walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on, walking back out again to find something to wear. All of Fletch’s family were quite dressy people, something she did not expect. Jac didn’t wear dresses or skirts, she spent everyday in scrubs and trainers. She did ask Sacha for advice though, he did love picking out outfits, ones that surprisingly looked nice. She chose some black jeans and a low cut white shirt, something she had realised she was really fond of. As she left the wardrobe, she peered ever at Fletch who had changed positions now but still fast asleep. She shrugged her shoulders and began to get undressed on the way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of her clothes behind.

 

She got out of the shower, untying her long ginger hair, happy that it still looked presentable. She quickly changed, tucking her shirt into her jeans, questioning whether or not it was slightly too revealing for breakfast. She shrugged it off, curling her lashes and applying the smallest amount of makeup to her face as possible. She stepped out of the bathroom, walking into the bedroom where Fletch was standing, still in his boxers. She stood against the same wall as last night, watching him focus on his phone, typing out a quick message and then turning out to face her.

 

“Breakfast is cancelled. They’re all too hungover.” He said, taking a swift look of her body and outfit, trying not to linger too long at the revealing cut of her blouse.

 

“Oh…” She said, aware that he hadn’t said good morning, or really looked her in the eye yet. Was he embarrassed? She tried to shrug the thoughts away as they pressed on her mind.

 

“Well, we might as well go, I guess.” He shrugged, walking past her into the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on and pressed her head against the wall. It was all a mistake, she thought as she imagined all of the possibilities of what could even be said anymore. What were her chances of just running for it? Packing her suitcase and just leaving whilst he was in the shower.

 

“Jac.” His voice interrupted her train of thought, catching her off guard as she turned to face the man standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

 

“Mmm?” She mumbled, fed up of her own thoughts as she walked towards him, unsure as to what he wanted.

 

“Good morning!” He grinned, placing his hand at the nape of her neck, bringing her in for a soft kiss. It only lasted seconds but it felt like a lifetime. He pulled away, smiled, and then headed back into the bathroom. She turned away, any thoughts of doubt quickly dispersed into feelings of, maybe, happiness. It was an unfamiliar feeling for Jac, just to be happy. So she processed it, and felt it. She felt happy.

 

They walked to the cafe down the street just like they normally would. They ate their food like they normally would, they laughed, he smiled, she rolled her eyes like they normally would. They didn’t know how to really broach the topic of last night’s antics, they weren’t even antics. The way he touched her, kissed her, spoke to her. They weren’t antics, the whole moment was just emotion. Working together for well over a year, being there for one another after deaths and disasters breeds some sort of care for one another. Who knew faking it for three days could just bring it out.

 

She knew she loved him, really fucking loved him. Sitting across from him as he hate his bacon sandwich, she knew. She knew because she could be herself around him. She didn’t have to sit and stare, bide her time with her comments, she didn’t have to force anything. She was the same with Sacha. She put on this persona at work, she was guarded and cold yes, that is who she is, but at work she was mean and she wanted to show her power. She’d always been let down, her mum, boyfriends, Jonny, Jasmine, the rest of it. So she was mean and scary. Fletch and Sacha though, she was sarcastic and funny. She will always be in charge but even she knows she is different around them. Her best friend and her… well knows what Fletch is to her at the moment. Who knows what Jac is to Fletch. He loved her though, really really fucking loved her. He loved every part of her, her coldness, her mean and angriness, her smile, her laugh, every time she rolls her eyes at him it burns a little, right where it hurts, right where it feels good. He was different with her too though, he was more serious, more personal. Everyone knew Fletch to be kind and soft but he was also passionate and funny and emotional with Jac. Everything they do just fits with one another.

 

“Wanna go sight-seeing?” He asked her as she put her fork down in her chicken salad. She’d have chicken salad at any hour of the day if she could.

 

“Mmm, I’m not really much of the tourist type.” She said, picking her fork back up taking another mouthful of her sort-of-breakfast-sort-of-lunch.

 

“Too bad.” He said, smiling at her as she rolled her eyes again. “So is this our first date then?” He asked, unsure of where this burst of confidence had come from.

 

“I don’t date.” She said, her mouth still full, pointing her fork at him. This was a topic that neither of them were sure how to approach, they didn’t think they would ever get near to this sort of interaction. His actions last night had been so out of the ordinary. Yes, they had been sharing glances and smiles and secret touches for the last year, but this wasn’t a secret anymore.

 

They stood up, Jac insisted that she paid but Fletch won, whipping out his bruised bank card from having four children and they left. He was adamant that they went sight seeing, acting all touristy before they had yet another party to attend in the evening. It was getting relentless, Jac thought, the number of parties and meals and events that they had and had left to do.A baby shower, dinners, a wedding rehearsal, a wedding and sort of a breakfast had already occurred. The party tonight was for distant friends and family who hadn’t been invited to the wedding or reception, and idea that Jac thought was completely pointless. They left on Saturday though, today being Thursday and she was excited to be home. She was excited to back where she belonged, not in dresses or skirts, just scrubs. She didn’t get to see Emma until Wednesday though and Steven had taken the Fletcher kids up to the lakes until Monday. Jac had been messaging Evie behind Fletch’s back. She was having boy troubles, so was Jac ironically, but she stayed focused on the teen’s troubles. Fletch had given all the kids Jac’s number in case of emergency and Mikey had used it once in the middle of the night when he had a nightmare. She never told Fletch that she made up a story over the phone to send him back to sleep, she never wanted him to know that his kids were slowly growing on her. Slowly, but it was happening.

 

They did end up going sight seeing though, or more so shopping. Jac only knew she was in the south because of how warm it was. The skies were pretty blue and the sun was out, something Jac secretly loved. She’d always sit outside on her breaks, she’d always take Emma for a walk around the park with Gary, the bloody dog, on her days off.

 

“You should get it.” He said, creeping up behind her as she was staring at this black jumpsuit. It was very low cut, too low cut in fact. She had a scar right down her chest from the operation Frieda performed a year ago, she hated it. She was full of scars now, her chest, her stomach, her back. Big ones, dark ones, red ones. She shook her head and placed it back on the rail, telling him she’s going to the toilet and would be back in a second. There were few words exchanged between them as he pictured her in the item of clothing. It would contrast to her pale skin so well, and her hair. He had to stop himself from thinking about the open back and the low cut front. He had to stop himself.

 

She came back and they walked around the city for a while, looking at the ugly clothes and laughing at the quirky shops. They picked up a few pieces, Jac bought another one of the shirts she’s taken a liking to recently whilst Fletch bought some boxers and socks, the usual man stuff, Jac thought. He did nip into this little corner shop that had spotted earlier without Jac noticing. She followed a few steps behind him, walking in to see him looking at postcards and fridge magnets with the English flag on it.

 

“You know we’re still in England, right?” She asked him as he searched for the correct postcards and turned to her and then turning back to his search. He picked up five different ones, beaches, shops, night lights covered the front of them and he smiled, happy with his findings.

 

“The kids love postcards!” He smiled to the lady behind the till as she processed each one.

 

“You have kids?” She said, looking up at him with a glint in her eye, looking down at his finger noticing there was no ring on there at all. “I bet you’re a great father.” She grinned, moving her hair behind her shoulders, showing her bare skin.

 

“I’d like to think so!” He grinned back, opening his wallet and searching for the spare coins. Jac looked at the lady behind the till as she stood a few feet away. She knew exactly what she was doing, Jac would act the same way if she was trying to get his attention. He was ignoring it though, liking it at the same time.

 

“You have five kids?” She quickly realised, placing them individually in the tiny plastic bag. Jac immediately looked up, knowing he didn’t have five kids, knowing one was for Emma.

 

“Oh uh,” He paused, trying to process what he was going to say, “No, uh, one’s for my girlfriend’s kid!” He smiled and her face dropped a little, handing him the bag, smiling and turning away. Jac’s eyes turned to the floor.

 

_Girlfriend._


	10. Chapter 10

They continued walking up through the city, very few words had been exchanged since the postcard shopping. Neither of them knew what to say. Fletch was already angry at himself for calling Jac his girlfriend, not that he didn’t want her to be but that he didn’t know what else to say. She hadn’t told him, he hadn’t told her. Jac was also frustrated, at the girlfriend thing yes, but at the fact that he bought a postcard for Emma. Their children would be involved. They had this discussion before, kids, things get messy. But she had been speaking to Evie, and Mikey, helping them. She even helped Ella with her biology homework when her school was shut over Christmas.

“Thank you, Fletch.” She breathed, stopping dead in the street.

“For what?” He turned to look at her. Her hair blew a little in the wind and he could see stray freckles cropping through her makeup as the sun shone.

“Thinking of Emma.” She smiled, still a little guarded when talking about her daughter.

He nodded and kissed her head, lingering for a moment to take it all in. What were they doing? Where is this even going? They both had a lot to discuss, possibly too much to discuss, but they’d do it later.She winced a little as they turned to walk, her back giving her grief. He placed his hand on her back, just at the nape of her neck as they walked back to the hotel. Jac, holding one bag and Fletch holding four or five, mumbling to her about how nice the weather actually was. She listened carefully, drifting into her own thoughts and then peaking at her phone when she’d gotten a missed call and text from Evie.

 

It wasn’t until they got to the hotel and Fletch told her he was going to have a beer with his brother that Jac was able to answer Evie.

— _What’s wrong?_

 

_— Oh nothing, just wanted to see if you and dad are having fun!_

 

_— How did you know I was here?_

 

_— Dad said! Just friends though... apparently_ 😉

 

_— Evie._

 

Jac knew that Evie understood the relationship between herself and the girl’s father. She always made comments when they were around one another.

 

— _Sorry!_

 

_— Didn’t your dad give you my number for emergencies only?_

 

_— This is an emergency! Can I come to work with you on monday? xx_

 

_— Why? You hate the hospital. You don’t come back from the lakes until Monday?_

 

_— Grandad’s bringing us back on sunday, please??? xx_

 

_— Fine._

 

_— Thank you! xx_

 

She thought the ‘xx’ were a bit too much but she let them slide.

 

“Evie wants to come to the hospital on Monday.” Jac said as Fletch walked into the hotel room.

“Steven said they were coming home a day early. I have meetings on Monday though.” He said, plopping himself on the bed next to her.

“Mmm, she can stay with me.” She said, getting off the bed and tying her hair up at the back of her head.

“Are you sure?” He asked, surprised at her sudden ability too look after children that don’t belong to her.

“Yeh, I’ll go in on Sunday and move my electives and then she can help with paperwork or something on Monday.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Are you sure?” He asked again. He didn’t want her to think that she had to change for him. She was perfect the way she was, he didn’t want her to lose herself because of four rowdy kids.

“Your kids are annoying Fletch, like you, but they’re good. Evie is also efficient, like me,” she grinned “so it’ll be easy.”

He smiled at her. He just smiled at her.

“I need to get a shower.” She huffed, releasing her hair from the low ponytail up into a much higher bun to prevent it from getting wet. He nodded, moving himself over to the desk where he had laid out all of the postcards. Once she had shut the door he raced to the untouched bags that laid in a pile in the corner of the room. He picked one up, taking out the long black jumpsuit he had bought behind her back. He placed it on the bed, alongside a note that read,

‘Gone to get changed in Rob’s room, you’re taking too long!’

She did take a while in the shower, only because it’s where she had her best thoughts. She was trying to process everything with Fletch, the girlfriend thing, the Evie thing, but there was something tickling her, something in the back of her mind. It wasn’t about Fletch or his clan of kids, it wasn’t about Emma - she’d called her every day.She stepped out of the shower, taking her hair out of her bun and reapplying her makeup. She hated makeup, the faff and the palaver of it all. That took her a considerably lesser time than in the shower. She slipped on the robe that she had hung on the back of the door, opening, expecting to find Fletch sitting there, talking to one of his children or writing the postcards. He wasn’t there though, but his note on the bed was and so was the black jumpsuit. She smiled as her fingers traced the fabric whilst reading Fletch’s note. He’d taken the labels off, positive it would fit her. He was right, it fit like a glove, in all the right places. She traced her fingers over the scar down the middle of her chest, aware that it was obvious, aware that a wrong move and a wrong look from a wrong angle and it wasn’t just her scar that could be seen - it was incredibly low cut. She loved it though, she felt good in it, happy in it.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Fletcher unlocked the door, shutting it and stopping dead in his tracks.

“Holy crap.” He said as she turned around to face him. Holy crap. It was early evening, around 7pm when he’d walked back in. The sun had nearly gone down, casting a dark golden colour across the entire room, across Jac.

“Mmm.” She muttered, turning back to look at herself. “I’m not sure.” That was a lie, she just didn’t know what to say as Fletch stood there silent. She turned back around to him, bending over to un-cuff the bottom of the trouser, exposing even more of her chest without realising. He sucked in a harsh breath,

moving towards her as she looked up, placing a hand on her shoulder and the other on her cheek.

“I called you my girlfriend earlier.” He said, trailing his fingers down her arm to her waist.

“You did.”

They looked at each other for a while, they did that a lot, just looking at each other.

“Is that, I mean..” He stuttered, unsure as to how she was thinking.“Are you my...? Are we-“

It was Jac that interrupted his verbal trailing of thought, pressing her lips to his, feeling their warmth circulating around them. They moved in sync with one another.

“Does that answer your question?” She smiled, giving him a soft kiss, pulling down on his tie.

“Jacqueline Naylor, my girlfriend. Sounds good to me.” He said, giving her one final kiss. Him using her first name caused her heart to skip a couple of beats.

“Oh my God.” She whispered, parting her lips from his, moving around the room to find a paper and a pen.

“What? Jac, what?” He asked, leaning against the end of the bed, watching her sit on the floor, focused on her paper.

“I think,” she paused, moving the pen in between her fingers, biting her lip. “I think I might be able to make open heart surgery laparoscopic.” She looked up at him, his eyes widening and moving towards her as she sketched out her idea. It didn’t make complete sense to him, he wasn’t a doctor, but he got the idea, he knew what she was drawing.

“No way!” He replied, standing above her, watching her work. She knew this is what she was meant to do, develop ideas, perform ground-breaking surgeries. She didn’t reply to him, she just wrote notes, picking up her phone to check the time.

“Oh crap, we need to go!” She said, shuffling her papers off of her and moving to stand.

“I mean, I can go down now and you can come in like half an hour?” He suggested, leaning over to kiss her forehead as he moved to the door. She smiled and nodded at him, grateful that he knew her the way he did, picking up the paper and pen again.

Time went by and she got more and more invested in her little project, getting her F1’s back at Darwin to send her statistics on open-heart surgery patients.  She didn’t know how long it had been when she heard Fletch unlocking the hotel door, stumbling through with two brown bags. 

 

“Shouldn’t you be at the party?” She asked him, biting the end of her pen in concentration.

“So should you, an hour ago.” He said as she scrambled to find her phone. Shit. She’d been sat here for an hour and a half working.

“Shit, okay let’s go.” She said, moving her papers off of her again, using her hand to push herself off of the ground.

“No.” He walked over to the desk, emptying the cartons and polystyrene containers.

“No?” She asked, standing now.

“I knew you weren’t going to come down as soon as I left the room so I showed up and snuck out and well, how does a Chinese takeaway sound?” He laughed, turning around watching her move in her black outfit.

“Oh thank God.” She sighed, moving over to the food.

“It sounds perfect.”

 

* * *

 


	11. Chapter 11

“Okay so, I think I can do it.” She said, shuffling her notes into a pile. It was nearly midnight, Jac was still sat on the floor surrounded in papers and notes, Fletch’s laptop and an empty plate.

 

“I think I can make open heart surgery laparoscopic!” She smiled, moving her glasses onto the top of her head. She’d had thoughts about a procedure like this for a few weeks now but it was only when she felt her heart skip a little that she figured it out. It would take time, work and finding someone capable enough to assist her in theatres, but it could be done. He didn’t reply to her exclamation though, instead he just looked at her. He was sitting slightly behind her on the other side of the sofa that her back was pressed against, his legs folded behind her head. Her legs were crossed in front of her, she’d kept them in the same position for the last five hours, barely even talking. He stayed there the whole time though, watching her work, watching her yell down the phone to Nicky, watching her smile in anticipation.

 

“What?” She said, turning her head to see him staring at her.

“Nothing. You’re just amazing.” He smiled, realising she had done all this work whilst in her outfit

for the party.

She rolled her eyes at his response, standing up to stretch her back.

“I mean it.” He said, watching her walk around the room. 

“So I can fix hearts, literally hold them in my hands, but I can’t remember to buy some fucking pyjamas.” She said, walking in and out of the closet, placing both hands on her hips as she scanned the room.He walked behind her, fetching his t-shirt and placing it in her hands.

“It’s cold.” She said, referring to the lack of trousers in her hand. He traced back his steps and found a grey pair of joggers that he wears all the time, the only pair of joggers that he brought, and placed them on top of the dark grey t-shirt.

She moved him aside and made her way into the bathroom, tying her hair in a low ponytail.

“Oh, thank you, Mr Fletcher. You’re so generous Mr Fletcher.” He muttered, making his way to the bed, taking off his shirt and trousers.

“I heard that.” She yelled, leaving the bathroom door slightly ajar.

“You were meant to!” He replied, hearing her let out a breath of laughter.

“Do you think they meant their vows?” She asked, coming out of the bathroom with her jumpsuit in one hand and her bra in the other.

“You mean Laura?” He asked, staring at her as she folded her clothes so delicately. 

She nodded her head and looked up at him as he stood shirtless in front of her.

“I’d like to think so. Marriages are meant to be forever.” He sighed. He never got upset about his wife. He loved her, everyone knew he loved her regardless of the mistakes he had made with Tess Bateman. He just was missing something in the marriage.

She nodded her head again, moving her clothes into her suitcase alongside everything she’d already worn.

“You’d hate that though wouldn’t you.” He said. It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement. “Being stuck in a marriage because of some promises you made years ago.”

She let out a small laugh, he knew her well. She was never a big fan of marriages, she never saw herself as being a wife. She didn’t really like to think of herself as a girlfriend either. She wanted to be his girlfriend, more than anything, she just felt that ‘girlfriend’ didn’t justify the feelings she had for him and ‘wife’ was a bit extreme.

“You know me Mr. Fletcher, don’t you.” She whispered, walking up behind him as he peered into the closet, trying to find something to wear to bed now that he’d given her his only suitable bottoms.

“I’d like to think so.” He whispered back, facing her as he shut the door, forgetting about the idea of clothes all together. 

She pressed her lips against his, brushing her hands against his stubble. He reciprocated this, running his hands down the back of her shirt, fiddling with the hem. Their lips moved in sync with one another, slowly Fletch walked her to the wall, her back hitting it slightly. They seemed to end up like this a lot, her against a wall, his lips attached to hers. His lips trailed this time, similarly to the night where he told her everything. His lips traveled down her neck, across to her collarbones. Every time they touched he set off a little spark in her whilst she ignited him. 

“Adrian.” She moaned slightly as his fingers travelled up and down her back. “I don’t know if I-” He stopped her talking when he lifted his lips from her skin, looking her dead in the eye.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He said, moving a strand of hair that fell from her ponytail behind her ear.

“I want to, trust me I do, I just don’t want to be a number.” She said, immediately regretting the words that tumbled out of her mouth. He recoiled at this, separating their touching bodies.

“A what? Is that what you think this is? Who I am?”

“No.” She warned, placing her hand on his chest.

“Just Abi, the girls at the bars, the agency nurses and locum doctors. I know about them, I don’t want to be them.” She sighed, he placed a hand on hers removing it from his chest.

“Yeah, I dated a lot of women, I’ve slept with a lot of women. You’ve slept with a lot of men Jac, let’s not forget that.” He huffed, staring her down.

“That was before you.” She recoiled, if she wasn’t still against the wall she would’ve walked further away from him.

“I dated these women to get you off my mind, Jac. You. I slept with them because I thought they could possibly replace you. Get you out of my head for one night. When you said I wasn’t good enough for you, I wanted you out of my head. But you were always still there. You’re always fucking there.” He sighed, looking anywhere but at her.

“Look at me.” She breathed, longing for his eyes to connect with hers.

“You said you didn’t want to, so we won’t, it’s fine.” He said, he wasn’t angry that she didn’t want to sleep with him, it wasn’t that at all. It was the fact that she doubted how much he cared for her. How much he wanted and needed her.

“I said look at me.” She commanded this time, stopping him in his tracks as he was walking towards the bed. He lifted his head

up, watching her bite the corner of her lip.

“You meant that?” She asked, tilting her head to the side as she watched him scramble for words.

“You know I did.” He sighed, his eyes still focused on hers.

“Not really.”

His body shifted towards her, she was vulnerable now. She needed to hear him say what he felt. She’d never wanted someone to say how much they cared for her or needed her as much as she did with Fletch. She wanted him to need her as much as she needed him.

“You are something else.” He whispered as he moved back towards her. “You are the most intelligent, irritating, frustrating but beautiful person I have ever met. You are not a single number, you’re everything I have ever wanted, everything I’ve ever needed.” He pleaded with her, facing her now but keeping his hands

to himself. “You make me feel something, it’s so powerful, Jac, I just feel it whenever I hear your name or see you.” He smiled, her eyes glistening over.

“Then feel me.” She sighed, lifting one of his hands and placing it just under her shirt, his warm hands igniting her skin as she brought his lips to hers. His lips travelled again, as they always did, down her neck, this time getting further as he lifted her arms, pulling her t-shirt off. Her body was half exposed to him, allowing him access to kiss her wherever. She played with him, fondling his waistband of his boxers and then leaving it, moving her thigh across his hardened centre.

“Fuck, Jac.” He sighed into her neck, nipping it a little causing her to moan. They’d both dreamed of this day, their bodies colliding with one another.

He let out loud, repeated moans of her name as they came to climax, both fully aware that half the hotel could hear them.

“Fuck.” He groaned as the two bodies collapsed next to one other, hearts racing. 

“That was..” she couldn’t continue her sentence as she tried to regulate her breathing.

“Amazing.” He finished it for her, smiling as she kissed him softly. This is what they’d waited for, confirmation that they could trust one another, that they could truly feel one another, that this was real.

 

Neither of them moved, tangled in between one another and the white sheets as they slept. Clothes covered the white floor as they dreamed of the possibilities. Sex for the first time was a dangerous prospect, it could make or break a relationship. It meant that after the first time, sex was a regular occurrence, part of their life and relationship. It was hard for both of them to understand how the fuck they’d come from co-existing, to loving one another, to hating one another, to surviving as ‘just friends’ to truly, properly and wholly loving one another.

The next morning Jac was awake first. She wasn’t shocked to find the naked body next to her, she wasn’t embarrassed by him or afraid that it wasn’t as good as she felt it was. She woke up later than normal, around 8am as she slipped on his t-shirt and joggers that he’d pulled off her last night. She made herself a cup of coffee, performing her usual routine of sitting by the window, watching the world slowly come alive.

There was a light knock on the door, it wasn’t until it was repeated that Jac was sure she heard something. 

“Hi, love.” The lady at the door smiled, Fletch’s mum. “Are you both awake?” She asked, trying to peer around the corner as Jac blocked her view, knowing if she did manage to look she’d be staring at her half-naked son sprawled across the bed.

“Just me.” She smiled. She hadn’t got to know Liz as well as she had with his other family and friends and she felt a singe of guilt for that.

“Well do you fancy coming down for breakfast with me?” She asked. She didn’t resemble Fletch that much, not in her appearance anyway.

“I’m not dressed or anything.” Jac stuttered. She wanted to get to know his mum, a little. She felt awkward though, unsure as to how to act around other people’s mum’s when she never really had the chance to do that with her own.

“That’s okay dear, I can meet you down there in ten minutes?” She smiled, waiting for Jac’s acceptance.

“Sounds good.” She smiled, waiting until she left before she closed the door, rushing to find her bra and pants before she got changed. She didn’t put any makeup on, she just took hair hair down from her pony tail and changed her t-shirt to a more fitting and presentable one than one of Fletch’s. It wasn’t even ten minutes when Jac had arrived, spotted Liz sitting in the corner and sat down oposite her.

She’d discovered a lot about Fletch over breakfast. His nickname when he was younger was ‘Ady’ and he’d always had a peculiar love for blueberry pancakes.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Jac said, putting her teacup back down. Liz nodded for her to continue, admiring the ginger-haired woman who sat in front of her.

“Me and Fletch, Adrian, when we arrived we weren’t dating.” She gave a half-smile to her boyfriends mother, who crooked her head to the side in confusion.

“He had told everyone he’d had a girlfriend and when he realised he couldn’t show up here without one, he enlisted me to help.” She smiled, trying to explain the situation in the least complicated way possible.

“What would he have done if you’d said no?”

“Probably asked someone else from work.” She said, bitter about the fact that he simply could’ve taken someone else and she could be replacing Jac. Thank God she said yes.

“Not really, I knew that you were his girlfriend. He’d described you in detail months ago. Unless he knows another Jacqueline with ginger hair and a knack for surgery.” She laughed.

“He mentioned me?” She asked, the corners of her mouth creeping into a small smile.

“All the time. I was on the phone to Evie last week and she said that she liked you a lot. She never let on that you two weren’t together though!” She laughed again, finishing the tea that had been satin her cup for half an hour. “So you’re pretending still?”

“No, we are actually together now. As crazy as it sounds.” Hearing her say that she and Fletch were together caused her heart to flutter a little, her memory of last night still completely in tact sending a rush through her veins.

“Ah, here he is now!” She exclaimed, getting out of her chair and giving her son a big hug. Jac smiled, at least she knew where Fletch got his hugging ability from.

“I’ll see you later Jac, yeah?” His mum said, bending down to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek. She nodded and smiled, facing back round to see Fletch sat opposite me.

“I thought you’d gone.” He said,whispering to her as she poured herself another cup of tea. “I thought you’d done a runner.” His voice was raised slightly, worried that maybe Jac was having second thoughts.

“No, your mum wanted to have breakfast so I came down.”

“Anyone would think we weren’t pretending anymore.” He laughed resulting in her raising her eyebrows at him.

“Did you bring a swimsuit or something with you?” He asked her as he picked up her teacup, taking a sip of her sugary earl grey tea.

“Yes, Sacha insisted I packed one just incase, why?”

“As it’s our last day I thought we could take a trip down to the spa or something.”

Spa’s weren’t really Jac’s thing, it would require people seeing her scars and potentially even touching them.

“I said no to a massage and all the rest of it. Just have a swim and a drink really.” He shrugged his shoulders. She was okay with that, and grateful that he knew how insecure she was about the marks on her body.

“Sounds good to me.” She smiled. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a long one guys.
> 
> I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it too!
> 
> xx

They spent the day with most of Fletch’s family. Half of them had already gone home, overstaying their welcome by a couple of nights. What Fletch thought was going to be romantic day in the spa was bombarded by his brother and children, his mum, his cousins, nieces and nephews. Jac didn’t really mind though, she learnt some interesting stories and became a lot closer with his mum throughout the course of the day.

“How is Adrian doing?” She asked, sitting down on the chair next to Jac. The sun was particularly bright for the beginning of April as they sat outside. There was a big pool behind the hotel that Jac had spotted on their way in and a glass building was behind it, full of massage rooms and saunas. “After Raf and everything.” His mum continued, passing Jac a small glass of champagne.

“He’s good, he’s getting there.” She smiled. Her hair was down and she wore a white t-shirt that covered her bikini, she wasn’t ready expose her scarred body in front of a group of people.

“And you?”

“I am okay.” She smiled, avoiding any eye contact with the woman sat next to her.

“I didn’t realise you meant so much to the kids.” She smiled, shifting her body towards Jac.

She raised her eyebrows in confusion. Jac never really had that much of an affinity to children, never mind the army that came with Adrian himself.

“Ella and Evie phoned me when you’d collapsed last year.”

Her eyes immediately darted upwards, staring at Liz now, surprised and confused.

“I didn’t know they knew.” She breathed.

“Evie was in tears bless her. You’ve really been there for my grandchildren Jac, whether you know it or not. I’m not around much but after Natalie,” She sighed, “They need someone like you. I’m glad for our family’s sake that you’re okay.” She smiled, a pang of guilt crossed Jac’s chest. She didn’t know that the four kids that she used to despise actually cared for her. Liz stood up and gave a weak smile to Jac, placing a hand on her shoulder as quickly as she removed it, walking over to some other family member. She hadn’t touched the champagne, Jac, she just ran her finger around the edge. After everything, alcohol was something that she just couldn’t bring herself to have anymore. She sat there, sober, thinking about her plans for her newest idea, figuring out who could help her. She couldn’t enlist Zosia because she was about to burst with a baby in three months, Frieda was on and off, she didn’t have Elliot. In fact, her whole Darwin team was beginning to look weak. No Mo, only two foundation doctors and one of the Goddard’s. She wasn’t too happy about that. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head though, focusing on her plan, yet thoughts raked in about Fletch and his family. How was this going to work? They see each other six days a week, they both have children. She tried to put that to the back of her head too, compartmentalising her emotions like she always did. She looked around her, placing her hand on her forehead so that she could see everyone below the painfully bright glare of sunlight. She saw Fletch playing with his younger nieces and nephews, completely entranced in his actions. He caught a glimpse of her looking at him and produced his old boyish grin that he usually wore. She smiled back, watching him point his head towards the pool, inviting her in. She shook her head and he persisted and to that she shook her head and laughed, cutting the gaze and focusing on the view in front of her.

“Are you going to come swimming?” He asked, walking up to her in his dark grey swim shorts.

“I don’t swim.” She said, doing her best to ignore the shirtless figure that stood in front of her.

“Well I’ll be in the indoor pool, I think Amy and Laura are coming too.” He shrugged, slowly walking away.

“Who’s Amy?” She said, stopping him in his tracks.

“Uh, blonde, short, one of the other bridesmaids.” He smiled, watching her face curl as she realised she was the blonde that was talking to Fletch a few nights ago.

“Ok.” She smiled and he left, although it wasn’t okay, not really. She was a jealous person, to a degree. She was never threatened by anyone because, well, she was Jac Naylor, but she didn’t like people getting involved. She didn’t like people in general to be honest.

It only took her five minutes for her to put her book and full glass of champagne down on the table next to her as she walked over to the big glass doors. Inside she could see a big pool, a few chairs and a bar at the back, full of people. It took her a couple of seconds before she had decided whether or not she was going to enter, but she did, eventually. It took a moment for Fletch to see her as she stood on the side with her arms crossed.

“Coming in?” He asked as he swam to the side, leaving the women that he was in mid-conversation with.

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t swim.” She said, scanning the room spotting the blonde haired woman that she was very aware of throughout this whole trip.

“You’re boring.” He huffed, swimming backwards away from her.

“Where are you going?”

“Somewhere fun.” He shrugged, a quick smile flashed across his face before he furrowed his eyebrows into a fake frown. She rolled her eyes and bit her lip a little, staring him down, trying to figure out how she could stop him from swimming away. She leant down and sat her legs over the side, her feet dangling in the water. He raised an eyebrow at her, swimming slowly towards her, placing both hands on her thighs.

“Not going to happen.” She said as he tugged a little, indicating that he wanted her in with him.

“We need to have a talk.” She continued, causing Fletch to loosen his grip on her thighs. He was worried that this was it, that she’d changed her mind, it was over. He didn’t reply, just looked up at her.

“When I collapsed, why did you tell the kids?” She said, tracing patterns on his left hand, not looking up at him. He stuttered for a minute, he’d never planned on telling her that his kids knew, he never thought he’d need to.

“Evie came to the hospital and saw me, I was a wreck.” He breathed, “She didn’t leave your side, neither did Mikey or Ella. Theo, well Theo just knew we were all sad.” He smiled. Her heart raced a little and her eyes glistened. She hated kids.

“Fletch I can’t put your kids through that. It was bad enough for Emma but she’s stuck with me.” She whispered. He pulled her off the side at this, very gently and she slid into the pool, standing on her tip toes as her shirt floated up a little.

“There was never a choice, Jac. My kids, although they’ll never tell you due to the fear that you’ll bite their heads off, they love ya.” He smiled, lifting her cheek up so that she faced him. Her worry and guilt disappeared for the moment, any questions or thoughts just went. She soon realised that the tips of her hair was under water, lifting it up and putting it into a loose ponytail, strands falling down in front of her face.

“Tonight, tonight is just us.” He smiled, whispering in her ear as he ran his hand under her grey shirt as they stood in the shallow of the pool.

“Oh Mr. Fletcher, what have you got in mind?” She laughed. She had always had a tact to entice men, her face, usually. But also how sexually promiscuous she was at the best of times. He kissed her neck and placed a hand on her lower back, setting off sparks in her skin.

“Does that tell you?” He whispered, his eyes darkening as she fondled the waistband of his swim shorts.

“It’s such a shame, isn’t it, that your mum invited us to dinner tonight.” She laughed, moving to leave the pool. His eyes came back to the multiple hues of blue and he bit his lip in frustration.

Their day was spent under the sun, talking and reading books. For April the weather was beautiful, plants had just begun to bloom, grass was green and the sun was bright. By around four in the afternoon people headed back into their rooms to get ready for their six o’clock meal. Not Jac though, she was focused on a book she had brought with her about the connections between the heart and the brain. Fletch didn’t understand it, he looked over at her every now and again as she read in complete focus whilst he flickered through his twenty-page book on motorbikes. It was around five-thirty when he had to basically pry the book from her hands, rushing them both upstairs to get ready.

“Hey Jac!” A voice shouted from the corner of the hallway.

“Laura!” Jac smiled weakly. She wasn’t a massive fan of Laura, solely because she wore very bright colours and never shut up. But she had to pretend, Laura was Fletch’s favourite cousin and probably favourite family member.

“Come and get read with us!” She screeched, running towards her on her tip-toes, grabbing her hands.

“Oh but my clothes-“

“I’ve got loads for you!” She laughed again, pulling Jac along with her as she stared Fletch in the eye.

“Meet you at the restaurant?” He asked, chuckling to himself as he saw her figure being pretty much dragged round the corner.

She walked into their bedroom, it was the honeymoon suite, even though they weren’t going on their honeymoon until Sunday. She found out they were going to Bali, to spend their time on the beaches for two weeks. She couldn’t think of much worse to be honest, her honeymoon, and yes she had thought about it one night, would be Denmark or South Africa. She’d want to volunteer somewhere, she thought one night when she was awake from an argument she’d had with Fletch earlier in the day. They’d originally argued about the care of a patient, something they tend to do on a daily basis back at the hospital, but this time it was over Fletch’s dad, Steven. It was a long and complicated story, one that Jac never thinks about since it was the day that she’d kissed him. He kissed her too, before she ruined it when she made her trail of paranoid thoughts verbal.

“How about this?” Laura asked her, holding three dresses in one hand and two pairs of shoes in the other. It was only convenient that they both had the same dress and shoe size. She stared at them all, trying to figure out which one was nicer. One was a soft pink, short, very short. The other was white and very tight fitting around the waist, she could tell by the way it was shaped on the hanger. It had brown buttons down the front and it ended at her ankles. The third one was a grey colour, thin straps and ruffles and a few sparkles across the back. It didn’t take her long to pick the white one, only because it was the least extravagant. It was definitely a summer dress, tight and then loose fitting after her hips. She chose to wear flats too, only because heels hurt her back and she was already tall enough without them. She watched Laura get ready, curling her hair and applying more makeup than Jac even owned. Lashes, hair extensions, the works. She sat there and watched though, bare faced and wavy hair contrasting against the made-up lady in front of her. It didn’t make her insecure, that Laura was beautiful, because it was a different kind. Laura was short but thin, her hair a really dark brown that trailed into blonde at the ends. She fake-tanned, it was clear, only because she didn’t like how white her skin was. Jac laughed at that, she was the palest of them all. But Jac was tall, her hair was the most vibrant thing about her, besides her smile.

They only arrived at the restaurant a couple minutes late, Fletch already sat down at one end of the table. Laura’s new husband, Mike, had come over and given her a kiss before she sat down, something Fletch hadn’t even thought to do to Jac. She sat at the other end of the table, Laura at the head, Mike one side of her and Jac the other. Jac couldn’t really see Fletch, he was on the opposite side but way further down, stuck in between his brother and one of the kids. He saw her though, as she sat down. She was probably the most beautiful person on the table, in the room, he thought as he watched her so carefully.

“Uncle Adrian?” The voice next to him asked, grabbing the attention of most of the table.

“Who’s that?” The small boy continued, pointing to Jac causing her head to turn away from the conversation she was in.

“Oh that’s my girlfriend.” He whispered, trying to get the attention away from the situation. He smiled at Jac as she watched the child with great intensity.

“She’s very pretty.” The boy smiled, “Can she be my girlfriend?” He asked, looking up at his uncle.

“She is very pretty, and no, you can’t, she’s mine!” He laughed, watching the small boy huff back in his chair. He caught a glimpse of Jac laughing, and she was, truly laughing. Not necessarily at the boy’s comments but at her current situation. In the middle of conversation with Fletch’s family, sat around a big table. The only thing that would make this better would be Emma being here, maybe even the Fletchlings too. It dawned on her that she was happy. She was happy, finally, happy.

The night went on full of laughter and smiles, Jac and Fletch catching each other and smiling for a moment before being dragged back into conversation. They left the little restaurant at nine-ish, they’d decided to put the kids to bed and then go down to the outside area to have some drinks for the last night. They all got back to the hotel in taxi’s, Jac and Fletch in separate ones but he waited for her outside the hotel.

“Meet you all there in twenty?” Laura said as she got out of the last taxi, “Get changed, meet you down there.” She laughed, stumbling out of the car. Anyone would’ve thought she was drunk but she was one of the few sober people there. They all replied happily, wandering into their rooms.

“How was your food?” He asked as he opened the door, taking off his white shirt and chucking it on the bed. She picked it up and folded it, rolling her eyes at him. She wasn’t the domestic type, she couldn’t cook, she did the laundry but didn’t take much care with it. But she was a neat person, organised, except for a couple bits at home.

“It was good actually.” She said, running her hands through her hair.

“Tired?”

“Yeah.” She sighed, watching him undress in front of her.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” He said, walking into the wardrobe with all their clothes in. He chucked her his pair of joggers and an oversized t-shirt which she gratefully received.

“No, I do.” She smiled, fiddling with the buttons on her dress. He moved over to her, stumbling as he tried to put on a loose pair of shorts as he walked. They matched the joggers he’d given her, he realised, grey and white. He moved in front of her, undoing the buttons as he watched her closely. Her breath caught in her throat a little, watching him focus on her so closely. He’d managed to get the buttons undone, moving the straps down her arms. She ran her fingers across his face, her thumb touching his bottom lip gently. She didn’t kiss him though, instead just stepped out the dress, watching him watch her in her black underwear, grabbing her clothes and walking to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Jesus, he thought to himself. He wondered, every now and again, how he’d ended up with Jac Naylor, out of every man in the world, how he’d got so fucking lucky.

It barely took a minute before she came out of the bathroom, empty handed wearing the joggers and a massive white t-shirt.

“What size is this?” She asked him, aware that the cut of the shirt was lower than normal.

He shrugged his shoulders and slipped on a pair of trainers, passing Jac one of her pairs and he grabbed one of his hoodies before they left. They walked down the stairs, both of them avoiding the lifts, discussing their plan tomorrow.

“Can we stop off at the hospital tomorrow?”

“Sure, why? It’s a Saturday.” He replied, holding the door open for her as they walked into reception.

“I need to get some papers and if Evie’s coming on Monday I need to get ahead.”

He nodded in response, entering double doors that led to the outside grounds. There was a patio where everyone was sat, wooden sofa’s all placed in the shape of a square with a big table in the middle. Fletch’s mum, brother, sister-in-law and Laura and Mike were already there, ordering themselves drinks.

“What do you guys want?” Laura asked in reference to the drinks.

“Water.” They both said simultaneously, smiling at everyone laughing at them both.

“I’ll go and get them.” Fletch said, chucking his hoodie down on one of the sofa’s as Jac sat down next to it.

They reappeared moments later, drinks in hand as well as a couple bowls of crisps. He hadn’t noticed that Jac had put on his hoodie. She’d curled up a little on the sofa, exhausted from the week she’d had. He sat next to her, watching her as she focused on everyone else, doing her best to stay awake.

“My hoodie?” He asked, shuffling her aside so that he was comfortable.

“It’s nice.” Jac said, fiddling with the edges of the hood. It only took them a few moments to get settled. Jac had taken off her trainers, folding her legs up on the sofa, leaning into Fletch a little. He opened his body up, wrapping one arm around her back as she rested her head on her shoulder. They both kept each other warm, drifting in and out of the conversation that was had around them.

“Where are you going for your honeymoon?” Fletch asked, startling Jac a little.

“Bali.” Mike answered, sheer excitement splattered on his face.

“The dream.” Laura smiled. They made a good couple, Jac thought. They were kind of in sync with one another, they knew what they both wanted and where they wanted to be.

“Where would you go?” Mike asked Fletch causing Jac to shift a bit. Marriage? She didn’t even know what to think.

“Honeymoon?” Fletch asked, aware that marriage was not even on his agenda. He forgot for a moment that he was supposed to be with Jac for a year, when they were pretending. The only person that knew was his mum.

“Don’t ask him that.” Jac said, interrupting Fletch’s train of thought. “He’d say something like Iceland.” She smiled, causing the whole room to laugh. He nodded, she was right. He’d always loved Iceland.

“She’d go to somewhere like South Africa.” Fletch shrugged, rolling his eyes.

“Volunteering.” They both said at the same time, neither of them looking at one another.

“You would’ve thought you two had been together longer than a year!” Laura laughed, so did Fletch and Jac, eyeing up Liz who was donning a slight smirk on her face. The reality was that they’d been together for all of three days. But not really. They’d had this thing for a year before the trip. They loved one another way before this. They both knew it too, that they were in love with one another. They knew each other inside out, there was very little that they didn’t know about one another actually. It would be unfair to say that they had been in a relationship for such a short amount of time when in reality, they’d been together for so much longer.

The evening continued like this, cheering to the marriage of Laura and Mike and discussing their plans for the future.

“We’re leaving early in the morning.” Fletch said as they all began to say goodnight.

“How come?” Liz asked, looking at Jac.

“I need to sort out my rotas, look over operations and just do paperwork. Fletch will probably have to sort out nursing paperwork too.” She told Liz, smiling at her. They all said goodbye to one another, Jac being given what felt like a hundred hugs. She was told it was nice to meet her, that she’s good for Fletch and all the rest of it.

“Thank you Jac.” Liz said, embracing Jac in a second hug. “Thank you for being there for my family.” She smiled, walking away as Jac smiled at everyone else. She was sad to leave the hotel, she was sad to leave her current state of happiness. She was excited to see Emma though, Jonny was dropping her off on Wednesday. She didn’t know where it was going to go with Fletch or what was going to change.


	13. Chapter 13

Jac had woken up first, grabbing a coffee and watching the sunrise. She’d already packed both of their clothes and got dressed herself, pulling on a pair of blue jeans and a shirt, the one she’d bought in the city with Fletch a few days ago. He took up three quarters of the bed and basically the entire duvet, if it wasn’t for the fact that he basically hugged her in his sleep, Jac would be freezing. She smiled as she watched him from the window, his hair ruffled and his eyes softly closed. She’d wanted to have left by now, it was gone eight, so that she could get to the hospital.

It was shortly after this that he woke up, moving to change and pack his final things. They shared few words in the morning, only Fletch making a sarcastic remark about whether Jac wanted to drive home or not. She rolled her eyes and it wasn’t even half an hour into the drive to Holby that she’d fallen asleep. She’d taken his hoodie again, not the same one he’d given her on the journey here to use as a head rest, but the one she wore last night. It was miles too big for her, the length of the arms coming over her hands and the bottom falling at the middle of her thighs. The journey took them longer than expected, they left just after nine and they were still on the road at one. The traffic caused Jac to stir, asking him why he was such a bad driver. He watched her frown in frustration, her arms crossed and her head leant on the door. It wasn’t until nearly two o’clock that he pulled into the car park of the hospital.

“Why are there so many people?” He asked her as they got out of the car. They didn’t take anything with them, only their phones, keys and Jac’s glasses. They walked into the front of the hospital, watching paramedics run past them, doctors on phones and nurses running from one end to the other. In the middle was Hanssen, his face lifting when he saw Jac and Fletch walking through the swarms of people.

“I was just about to phone you.” He said as Jac looked around.

“What’s happened?” Fletch asked, being shoved about a little by the chaos that ensued around him.

“A big accident on Merry Road, thirty six casualties, all here.” He sighed, watching Jac’s face shift in realisation.

“Darwin?” She asked, knowing that an accident with that many injuries must have an impact on her ward.

“Breaching.” He replied and as the words fell out of his mouth she was already on the way up to her ward, she wasn’t going to let someone else run this for her. Fletch was only steps behind, knowing this wasn’t going to be a quick drop-in to grab some paperwork.

“Nicky. Scrubs.” She said, pointing to the young F1 as she made her way back to the office. Fletch demanded the same, running to his office through the swarm of people. She handed him his pair on the way past as he undid his tie and she went to knock on Jac’s door before she was interrupted with an invitation to enter.

“Update.” She said, grabbing the scrubs from Nicky, indicating her to shut the door.

“Three elderly men with heart-attack like symptoms, middle aged man with a partially collapsed lung, two with severe chest pains, a couple with asthma flares and some others.” She said, distracted by the fact that the Director of Cardio was getting undressed and changing into her scrubs in front of her, not knowing where to look.

“With me.” Jac said, tying her hair up and chucking Fletch’s hoodie on her sofa.

She ran out into the middle of her ward where her whole team were stumbling over what to do next. Doctors and nurses surrounded the nurses station, arguing who they were going to treat and in what order, who was going to operate and who wasn’t.

“Okay.” She yelled, banging a couple of patient files on the desk as the ward went silent. Fletch came out of his office, shocked to hear silence until he realised that Jac was in control, then he fully understood it.

“This is how it’s going to work.” She said, all eyes on her.

“Dr Dunn, you are in charge of treating all minor issues and getting them off of my ward, I want them gone within the next two hours. Dr. McKendrick, you are in charge of admitting patients and focusing on their pre-op care. Ms. Goddard I want you to oversee the electives. Move them, shift them, do what you need to and when you’re done, either theatre, pre or post-op care. Ms. Patrenko and Ms. Self, you will be rotating between theatres and emergency care.”

“Nurse Moore and Jo you are the only theatre trained nurses on this ward besides me so you will be in theatres too. All non-surgical nurses and assistants I want half-hourly obs on every patient. Dot your I’s cross your T’s. I want immediate reports to me or Ms. Naylor.” Fletch said, walking next to Jac who was staring at her staff members.

“Do we make ourselves clear? It’s going to be a long day, I don’t have time for mistakes.” She finished, watching them all go to their separate areas and treating the swarm of patients.

“Thank God you’re back.” Frieda said to Jac on her way past, grateful to have her mentor back after a week away. Jac smiled at this, Frieda was usually so cold, nearly as cold as Jac, it was odd for them to ever exchange pleasantries.

“We’ve got this.” Fletch smiled, picking up patient files and looking at her.

“We have.” The ward was quiet for a few moments until a continuous been made Fletch and Jac run towards one of the elderly men.

“Fancy scrubbing in?” She asked him, instructing nurses to get him prepped for theatre.

“Always.” He smiled, running their separate ways, Fletch straight to theatre, Jac stopping off to grab her scrub-cap first.

They’d been in theatre for hours, Jac instructing Fletch for clamps and the rest of it, him anticipating her every move. They worked quickly in theatre, she knew he was the best scub nurse in the hospital, but he was particularly brilliant with her. He knew what she was going to ask for, leaning over her to watch her hands move in record time. The phone in theatre rang, something pretty uncommon to happen. They put it in speaker phone, Zosia’s voice ringing through the operating room.

“Jac how close to done are you?” She asked, Jac could hear a frantic beeping from the other end of the phone.

“Just closing, why?”

“It’s Mr. Stewart, stitches aren’t holding and he’s bleeding fast.”

“Get Ms. Patrenko in to help you.” She said, Fletch passing her instruments as she spoke, Jac not having to utter a word to him.

“I’m here.” The Ukranian voice blurted from the phone lines. “Jac he’s gone into cardiac arrest. We need you.” There was a sense of urgency in both the doctors voices, ones that caused Jac to panic a bit.

“Okay, get Dr. McKendrick in here to close. Fletch once she’s done I need you in the theatre with me. I’m on my way.” She said, putting her instruments down and ripping off her face mask, apron and gloves. She was incredibly fast, rushing out of the theatre to the one two doors down, re-scrubbing and moving into position under six minutes.

“You managed to keep him alive then.” She said, replacing Zosia on the lead side of the table.

“Barely.” Frieda replied, watching the machine beep showing very few signs of a heartbeat.

“Cardiac arrest.” Jac said, watching the machine bleep vigorously in front of her, putting her hand on top of the heart.

“Cardiac massage?” Frieda asked, watching Jac focus on the machine, waiting for a heartbeat. It only took about thirty seconds before a low rhythm picked up again, shocking every doctor in the room apart from Jac.

“What prolene did you use?” She asked, watching a small amount of blood trickle out of the heart at every beat.

“2-O.” Zosia said, realising immediately it was the wrong one.

“Are you kidding me?” She huffed, demanding 3-0 prolene from the scrub nurse next to her who was incredibly slow.

“Oh for fucks sake.” She sighed, grabbing the material and metal herself, moving the scrub nurse out of the way. “Ring theatre two.” She said, watching the nurse move to the phone. Everyone watched Jac work, frustrated that her registrars couldn’t figure out how to properly do a simple procedure.

“Sorry, I just thought-“

“I don’t care what you thought, whatever you thought has caused this man’s heart to rip.” She shouted over the beating heart of Mr. Stewart. Frieda stepped up to defend the other doctor but failed when Nicky’s voice rang through the theatre.

“Hello?” She asked, unsure what was going on.

“How far have you got?” She asked, asking for suction as the slower nurse moved to place it at the bleed.

“Last suture is done.”

“Fletch?” Jac asked, suctioning the bleed herself, once again moving the nurse out the way.

“I’m on my way.” He said, everyone could hear him rushing out of theatre through the phone.

“Nicky?” Jac asked, her stress relieving itself knowing Fletch was seconds away.

“Yes?” The younger doctor asked. Nicky had always wanted to please Jac, she was basically her idol since she had started.

“Well done.” Jac said, she could practically hear Nicky’s smile through the phone.

“Thank you.” Jac had ignored her grateful notion as Fletch walked into the theatre, rescrubbing and joining beside her.

“Zosia why am I using 3-O instead of 2-O?” She asked, watching the doctor stumble for an answer. She gave it correctly, causing Jac to nod and appreciate that the younger doctor who she had mentored knew the answer.

“Not so incompetent after all then.” She said, her demeanour had changed since Fletch had joined. “Watch.” She pointed to the two doctors standing before her as they leaned over a little, watching Jac’s hands work, Fletch moving in and out with material, clamps and suction every now and again. Everyone in the room watched the surgeon and the theatre nurse work, they were in sync with one another. Jac hadn’t had to ask for anything, Adrian just gave it to her, anticipating her thoughts. It was only half an hour later when she had finished, allowing Zosia to close.

“Frieda my office.” Jac said, Fletch staying behind to help Zosia close.

Frieda was only around ten seconds behind Jac as they walked through the ward, making sure that everything was under control before they entered her office. Everything was relatively in place, minding the shirt and jeans that sat on her desk and Fletch’s hoodie that was thrown on the sofa.

“How have tings been since I’ve been gone?” She asked the registrar who stood in front of her.

“Seamless.” She replied, causing Jac to roll her eyes as she sat down in her chair.

“Honestly? It’s been alright, I took a few of your electives, Zosia took a few, Nicky and Cameron have done admin. Bit boring.” She reluctantly admitted. They all knew that they needed Jac for the ward to work as seamless as it does.

“How’s it been with you and Zosia?” She asked, tilting her head as she watched Frieda roll her eyes.

“She has nice hair.” She replied, not willing to give up the revelation that she did actually quite like the doctor.

If it wasn’t for Cameron running in to the office Jac would have made some sly remark about the situation.

“Mr. Henry. His lung has completely collapsed.” He breathed causing Jac and Frieda to run to the patient struggling to breathe.

“Can you do this?’ Jac asked Frieda as she nodded, ready for anything.

“Page me if you need me. Get Zosia in to assist.” She said, causing Frieda to question the decision.

“You’l never learn from your mistakes if you don’t get another chance.” She shrugged. There was something quite noticeably different about Jac. She had her moments in theatre like she always did, but she was calmer, more willing and forgiving. No one was complaining though, it was nice to see Jac potentially happy.

She walked back to her office, picking up her phone to see that it was nearly midnight. She’d been in theatre for hours, her hands beginning to ache and her feet starting to tingle with exhaustion. She sat down on her sofa, resting her head on the arm rest and picking up Fletch’s hoodie as she tucked one arm over it. She drifted in and out of sleep, aware that her pager could go off any minute but she eventually succumbed to the weight in her eyelids.

“Where’s Jac?” Fletched asked walking over to Frieda and Zosia who had just come out of their operation.

“How’s Mr. Stewart?” Zosia asked, concern flashing through her eyes.

“I just got back from recovery, he’s awake and responsive. In pain, as you’d expect.” He replied, watching Zosia’s mouth curl into a small smile of relief.

“So, where’s Jac?” He asked them both, Frieda raising her eyebrows a little and informing him that she was probably in her office. He turned and walked in that direction, unable to hear the chatter that went on behind them.

“Did you see them in theatre? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Zosia said, referring to the basically mind-reading that occurred which Jac and Adrian had gotten good at.

“Oh, if only you knew.” Frieda smirked, confusion crossing Zosia’s face but then passing as another patient called for help.

He knocked lightly on her office door, but when he received no response he opened it gently, afraid to make any noise in case she was focusing on something. He scanned the room, noticing that she wasn’t in her chair, only turning his head slightly to see her fast asleep on the sofa. He recoiled slightly, shutting the door and walking away. He was back seconds later though with one of the blankets that Evie had brought in. He opened the door again, conscious that the door always made way too much noise. He bent down and put the blanket over her, catching a glimpse of his jumper tucked under her arm and he smiled, kissing her forehead lightly. In her nearly unconscious state she weakly grabbed the tips of his fingers as he leant upwards. Her eyes were still closed and she had a pathetic grip on his fingers, but he took it upon himself to sit on the floor next to the sofa, resting his head against the arm rest. He held her fingers this time, just placing his hand on top of hers as she slept, them both drifting asleep after what was meant to be a calm day. 


	14. Chapter 14

There was a light knock on the office door, a light but interrupting knock that caused Jac to stir from her sleep. She sat up slightly, Fletch’s hoodie still under one arm but he was no where to be seen. 

“Come in?” She said, taking her hair out of her pony tail and running her thin fingers through it. Frieda came in holding files and a tablet with CT scan results. 

“Mr. Stewart’s results post-op.” She said, handing them to a tired Jac who sat on the sofa. 

“Not as clear as I’d like it to be, re-do it in an hour and get back to me.” She said and Frieda agreed. 

“How’s your back?” She asked, watching Jac move to her desk to look at the time. It was just 6:04am but she knew she probably had time to watch the sun rise. 

“It’s okay.” She huffed, swivelling in her chair to face the dark haired girl. 

“Jac?” She insisted.

“It only hurts in the evening, the scar gets cold at night, pins and needles. Happy?” She retorted, silently grateful for the concern, obviously annoyed at it too. 

“Very.” She left, leaving a bunch of files for Jac to go over. She did that every morning, usually not this early, but she liked to be able to know about every patient on her ward, the medication, any allergies, their conditions, she wanted to know it all. She sat them aside for the moment, paging Frieda to come back in. She arrived only seconds later, a confused look sprawled across her face. 

“You wanted me?”

“You’re in charge today. I know you’ve had Serena watching over you and Zosia for the week but I have things to do, you’re in charge, no one to make decisions for you. Although if you screw this up-“

“I’m gone, I know.” 

“Mmm, page me if something goes wrong.” She said and Frieda obliged, happy to be in charge. 

She turned her chair to face the big window out onto the grounds of the hospital. The sun was nearly completely risen, casting a gold shadow across the grass into her office. She watched the colours melt from pinks and oranges into the blue of the day. She heard her door creep open, ready to yell at some inconsiderate being for not knocking until she saw Fletch holding two cups of coffee. He passed it over to her and leant against her window. 

“Where did you go?” She asked him, today being the first time in a week that she hadn’t woken up next to him.

“I literally left twenty minutes ago to get coffee?” He said, it sounded more like a question than a statement though. She felt a sense of relief that he hadn’t gone and left in the middle of the night, regardless of how uncomfortable the floor might’ve been. “Oh, does it bother you that I wasn’t there?” He asked, his eyebrows raised and a slight smirk crept upon his face. 

“No.” She rolled her eyes, standing up and moving to the radiator. 

“Why is it so fucking cold in here?” She asked, her bare arms exposed since she was wearing her navy scrubs. 

“Oh yeah, another reason I came here, Hanssen said all main heaters are down, so basically the ward is alright but big offices, this one, isn’t gonna have any heating until tomorrow.”

“Mmm great.” She turned around to spot him sitting in her chair, instantly getting out of it as she gave him a dark stare. 

“What was the other reason you came in here?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said ‘another’ reason.” She said, moving her body against his as she walked to her desk. 

“Just to give you coffee.” He smiled, taking a sip from his. 

“I need to go over the rota’s with you.” She remembered. She’d seen them last night and realised her whole department had new or agency nurses apart from Fletch and a couple others, something she wasn’t happy with. 

“Thought you might say that. I have to go and do some obs and we can discuss it in an hour?” She nodded at his idea, picking up her glasses and putting them on so she could scan the files into her brain.

“Does it feel different to you?” He asked, pausing on his way to the door. 

“What?” She asked, not looking up from her files to pay enough attention. 

“Us. Does it feel different?” He asked, waiting for a response that would put any feelings of doubt at ease. 

“No.” She continued to look down, flicking through pages of Frieda’s nearly impossible to read handwriting. 

“Right.” He sighed, opening the door. He was worried that things would go back to the way they were. That she was only his real girlfriend for three days and then she’d forget about all that when she got back to her reality.

“Fletch.” She said, looking at him as he turned to her, his eyes not making contact with hers. She got out of her chair and walked towards him, shutting the door. “It doesn’t feel different to me because I have always felt this way about you. It just means I can do this.” She whispered as she placed her lips on his, him embracing her, running one hand to the nape of her neck. They were soft with one another, for the most part, but there was a fire in both of them. Jac’s fire was bigger, her fire was her whole personality but a small part of it burned just for him. 

“Okay?” She breathed, leaving him with a soft kiss as he repeated the words to her and left the room, a smile donning his face as usual. She went back to her previous position, taking a sip of her coffee and rushing through the patient files. As the day went on Frieda came in and out to give Jac updates and ask a few questions that she couldn’t answer herself, annoying Jac but also solidifying the fact that she had a lot more to teach her. It wasn’t until she had finished reading her patient files and her paperwork that she realised it was gone midday and Fletch hadn’t been in to sort out the rota’s.

“Where are you off to?” Frieda asked as she saw Fletch running onto the ward. 

“I just got caught up in a meeting, grabbed some food and I’ve got to sort out the rota’s with Jac.” He sighed, holding a bag of food from Pulses. 

“We’ve already got the rota’s though?” She asked as he walked slowly past her. 

“Jac isn’t happy, Serena won’t be either.” He sighed again, knowing that this day was never going to end. 

“Who would you rather be angry with you?”

“Well Serena is currently Director of Medicine since Connie’s accident.”

“But Jac is Jac Naylor.” She replied and he nodded, knowing full well that he’d rather have an angry Serena than an angry Jac any day. They all would. He walked into Jac’s office, shocked by the cool temperature and placed his bag of food on her desk. 

“A peace offering, since you’re never able to discusss the rota’s diplomatically.” He laughed and she rolled her eyes at him. She’d put his hoodie back on, her hair tucked under it and her hands barely visible as she sat at her computer as the fabric covered them. He smiled at her, reminding himself to take a mental photo of this moment, her in his hoodie, something he never thought would happen. 

“You’re lucky, I haven’t eaten in literally 16 hours.” She sighed, opening the bag to reveal her favourite chicken salad. She smiled and opened it up, stabbing the meal with the plastic fork and sitting back in her chair. 

“I need two more theatre nurses on Darwin next week.” She said, wasting no time, regardless of how grateful she was for the food. 

“I haven’t got two more to give unless they’re agency.” He said, pulling up a chair from the unused desk in the corner, putting it on the other side of Jac’s desk. He opened his own food, a chicken sandwich and a packet of crisps. 

“Not agency.” She warned, bringing up the rota on her computer. 

“I always give you the least number of agency nurses.”

“I don’t care, in total next week I have eight agency nurses and five of our own who have never worked on Darwin before.” She huffed, nearly finishing her chicken salad. 

“Because the nurses always complain about you.”

“Because they can’t do their jobs properly.” She replied, pushing her empty container off the desk into the bin. 

“No, you just expect too much from them, it’s unrealistic.” He watched her as she rolled her eyes at him, she wasn’t going to give up. 

“What is unrealistic is expecting me to run this ward with basically no team.”

“I can give you a nurse from AAU, that is it.”

“Not AAU, they only know how to fix cuts and bruises.”

“I used to work on AAU.” He replied, finding her less endearing and more frustrating by the second. 

“And now you’re on Darwin, even you’d admit it was an upgrade.”

“Only for the salary, not for the people.” He blurted, watching her jaw drop and her eyebrows raise. 

“Switch my nurses with Sacha’s.”

“No.”

“Yes.” She raised her voice a little. 

“We need to separate work and our relationship. From now on everything we say about the rota, we can’t let affect anything else.” He said, lowering his voice. 

“Fine. Give me good nurses.”

“You have good nurses.”

“No, I have you and agency ones, it is not a team, I work with a team.” She raised her voice again, moving her hands about even though you couldn’t see them due to the black fabric covering them. 

“You wouldn’t know it. You took over from the theatre nurse yesterday.” He yelled back, his arms were folded and his eyebrows were furrowed into a frown. 

“She was useless. Right next Wednesday and Friday the only theatre trained nurse is you. You are the only person constantly on my team so I need you to get me at least two more on both of these days.”

“I will look into it.”

“I need a yes or a no.” She replied. They both had calmed down a little, her request being slightly more reasonable.

“I can’t give you a yes or a no until I have spoken with my staff.”

“ _Your_ staff ?” She responded, unaware that he had some how become in charge of the hospital. 

“Yes, I’m Director of Nursing. They’re nurses”

“I’m Clinical Lead of this ward, they work on this ward.”

“We aren’t getting anywhere, I’ll speak to them and Serena, see what I can do.”

“Don’t try too hard, wouldn’t want you to injure yourself doing your job properly.” She returned back to her computer, scanning the rota once again. 

“Give it a rest, Jac. You can’t be in control of every little bloody thing.” He spoke as he moved to leave.

“Yes I can.” She said as she opened her notebook, recording the fact that she needed to speak to Sacha incase Fletch didn’t give her the nurses she wanted. As Fletch was walking away she said, “Evie needs to be here at eight tomorrow morning.”

“What?” He asked, turning back to face her. 

“Evie. Tomorrow?”

“Oh we’re back to us now?” He stood facing her. 

“I thought we were separating work and relationship?” She folded her arms again, still cold from the lack of heating. 

“Yes, I just hadn’t realised you would be so fine so quickly.” He laughed, “Eight o’clock it is.” He said as he walked out the door, smiling to himself, confused but happy that he’d made it out alive. 

 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

If it wasn’t for the traffic, Fletch would have been perfectly on time. Evie was rolling her eyes sat next to her dad in the car, reminding him that Jac was going to be angry at them both for being late.

“I know, don’t you think I know that?” He replied, fully aware he was going to get an earful as he parked the car outside the hospital fifteen minutes late. They both rushed inside, still taking the stairs, hurrying themselves onto the ward. 

“She might be in theatre.” Evie suggested, hoping that their late arrival might have gone unnoticed if she was preoccupied with a surgery. 

“Crap.” Fletch muttered to himself, watching Jac walk towards them both from the nurses station. She hated people being late, she always plans her days to the minute, even though they usually get ruined by an unexpected surgery or complication. She walked past them both, heading directly into her office as the two followed her, Fletch rolling his eyes and Evie muttering something under her breath. Jac sat down in her chair, watching the two trail in. Evie didn’t say a word, just stood there, regretting choosing to stay with Jac all day instead of her father.

“You’re late-“ She said, but she was cut off by an irritated Fletch. 

“Yeah, we know.” He replied causing both Jac and Evie to flinch a little, surprised at his tone of voice. “I need to go and take the kids downstairs.” He continued, leaving Evie being watched by Jac who’s eyes shifted from the young girl to her father.

“One second.” She said to Evie, getting out of her chair and following Fletch out. She dragged him round the corner of the ward where no one was walking, facing him with her eyebrows raised.

“Care to explain?”

“Being late or-“

“Your attitude.” She interrupted, her voice quiet so that no one could hear them.

“Oh I just thought, since we were not telling Evie about us, I just didn’t want to give it away.” He shrugged causing Jac to let out a shy laugh.

“Whatever that was, was not discreet. Just be normal.” She suggested, his eyes softening as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She stepped away from him as Zosia walked past, eyeing the couple but then getting distracted with her patient. He realised Jac had walked away, resting his head against the wall and then leaving, he knew he had to rush to get the kids to the crèche he and then back to work. 

“What’s the plan?” Evie asked, still in the same position that she was in when Jac left. 

“I have a lot of things to sort out so I need you to upload all the non-confidential files onto the computer and file some stuff away for me.” She said, sitting down on her chair, nodding to Evie to sit down at the desk to the side of Jac’s, which she obliged to. 

“That sounds boring.” The young girl huffed, placing her bag on the floor, sitting on the chair placed under the desk. Jac didn’t respond, just raised her eyebrows and watched her.

They spent most of the morning without speaking, Jac writing notes and reading files, Zosia and Nicky coming in and out of her office with scans and questions. 

“Why do they keep coming in?” Evie asked, taking Jac out of her train of thought. 

“I’m the boss.” She said, not lifting her head. 

“It’s really cold in here.”

“Your dad said the heating should’ve come on last night but it obviously didn’t.” She sighed, folding her arms as she watched the young girl work. Her arms were cold as her bare skin exposed, running her fingers along her elbows to generate some sort of heat.

“Trust him to be wrong.” Evie slyly remarked, a small smile forming at her words. Jac let out a sigh of laughter at this, Fletch was often wrong, or didn’t understand what he was talking about. 

“Don’t say that to him though.” Jac replied and Evie nodded in agreement, he hated to be told he was wrong. 

“You know dad nearly as well as I do.” She said, Jac’s head turning to face Fletch’s daughter, giving her a small smile. 

“He’ll be here shortly, he said he would give me the rota’s at one.” She replied, looking at the clock as it ticked past 12:58.

“He’ll be late.”

“He won’t.” Jac confidently replied. 

“He will, dad’s late for everything.” She muttered, placing the final file on the table, completing all the computer work.

“He won’t.” She replied again, secretly hoping that she was right. It was only seconds later that Fletch entered the room, waltzing in with a bag from pulses like he did yesterday. 

“How come he’s the only one that doesn’t knock?” Evie asked Jac, pointing to the door. Jac smiled and tilted her head at Fletch, waiting for an answer that Fletch never gave. Evie noted this though, Jac was right. She didn’t think much of it but noted it, aware that her dad was late for everything else but Jac. 

“I come in peace.” He mumbled, a white sheet of paper and a file weakly held in his other hand. 

“Tell me you have good news.” Jac said, noticing the paper and assuming it was the rota. 

“Don’t get angry.” He warned, placing the rota on her desk, moving along to Evie to give her the lunch he’d bought her, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. 

“I swear to God Adrain.” She said as she looked at the rota and then to him, his eyebrows raised slightly as he pushed her chicken salad closer to her so that it would soften the blow. He grabbed the spare chair and placed it in front of her desk, not breaking eye contact. 

“I said I wanted two more Darwin nurses on Wednesday and Friday, I only see one more.” She raised her eyebrows, watching him squirm slightly. 

“I will work the extra shifts. I have half days on Wednesday and Friday.” He suggested, he’d already planned it with Serena, getting her approval.

“Well why did you not lead with that?” A smile covering her face as she looked at him and then back to her chicken salad. Evie watched them both, eating her own lunch but watching them. She knew something was going on, something was always going on with them both, she just was not one hundred percent sure whether it was real or not. 

“Evie can you grab my phone from my office?” He asked his daughter, her eyes flicking to Jac’s for a seal of approval. She put down her food and walked out, leaving the door slightly ajar. 

“My hoodie.” He said, his eyebrows raised. Jac’s eyes turned to the hoodie sitting on the back of her chair, fully aware it was there all along. “Evie knows it’s  my  hoodie.” He said, reaching out for her to pass it to him.

“No.”

“No?” 

“No. It’s cold.” She said, her arm wrapped round it. “If you want it come and get it.” She teased, fiddling with the edges of the soft material, looking up at him and then back down at the hoodie. 

He would’ve stood up and grabbed it from her if it wasn’t for Evie walking in the room, passing her dad his phone. 

“Is that Dad’s hoodie?” She asked, looking down at the materia that Jac had on her lap. His eyes widened as he watched Jac fumble for words.

“Yeah, he gave it to me for you if you were cold.” She smiled, handing it out to the young girl. 

“Oh, it’s fine I’ve got my own, you can wear it.” She shrugged, moving back into her position at the desk. Jac raised her eyebrows at Fletch, smiling since she’d won. 

They spent a few hours going over the procedures that Jac had planned over the next few weeks. Evie watched them both, smiling when Jac rolled her eyes or when Fletch shook his head, frustrated at Jac being so insistent. She was happy though, Evie, seeing her dad like this. After everything that had happened to their family, she knew Jac made him happy, regardless of whether or not that was in a platonic way or not. Evie admired Jac, too. She admired her strength and courage to continue after everything. She admired them both, she hoped, secretly, that Jac would become part of their family, so did all the children. She’d put on his hoodie, at some point during their conversation about budgeting. Evie saw the way Fletch looked at Jac and her hair tucked under the hood, she saw it all. 

“Well how does Serena think that’s fair?” Jac asked him, looking at the figures on the paper. “There’s more funding for AAU than any other ward when they have less patients and less theatre time.” She huffed, picking up her glasses and standing from her chair. 

“Where are you going?” Fletch asked as Jac walked towards the door, still in his hoodie. 

“To knock some sense into Serena, figuratively, maybe also physically.” She shrugged, opening the door and then shutting it behind her. 

“She is so badass.” Evie said, Fletch nodding and smiling in agreement. 

“How’re you finding it?” He asked his daughter who was looking through the computer making sure she had done everything correctly. 

“It’s fine, she doesn’t talk much though.” She elaborated, “She just sits there and writes and reads.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t talk when she’s focused.” He moved over to the sofa that sat at the back of the office, able to see the view of the office better. 

“She knows you well.” Evie smiled, her face turning into a small smirk, emphasising the point that she had made to Fletch a long time ago, that Jac fancied him and that the feeling was mutual. 

“We work together!” He exclaimed, trying his best to act sincere and hide away the guilt in the lie. 

“Who takes their colleague to a wedding and a week away in a hotel?” She retorted, her smile growing wider. 

“Friends.” 

“Friends that stayed in the same room?” Her question was said as more of a statement causing Fletch’s eyes to widen in a sudden thought that she knew. “You stayed in the same room?” She continued, her mouth opening at the realisation that she was right. “Same bed?” She continued still, her smile from ear-to-ear continuing. Fletch just sat there, unable to speak, his arms folded close to his chest as he tried to worm his way out. 

“I’m not discussing this with you. We’re just friends.” He huffed, indicating to his daughter that it was time to shut up. 

They sat in silence for a moment, Fletch trying to slow down his thought process, the realisation that his daughter was slowly catching on. In the moment Jac had returned, opening the door with a smile on her face. 

“What’s put you in such a good mood?” He asked her as she came in, sitting down in her chair. 

“Serena sorted the budgeting, Darwin got the most in the end.” She smiled, Evie mouthing ‘badass’ to her father who sat there smiling back. 

“Oh and Jonny is dropping Emma off here later too.” She smiled still. Her daughter was her favourite person, after everything they’d been through since her birth, Jac, although not the mother type, was a brilliant mother. 

“What time?” He asked, unsure how that was going to work as he saw the piles of paper on her desk. 

“4.” She huffed. Although grateful to see her daughter, Jonny really picked the difficult times. “I don’t know how I’ll get out of here before five if I’m honest.”

“I’m taking Theo and Mikey home at four, I can take Emma too, and Evie.” He offered, walking over to Jac’s desk. 

“I’ll stay with Jac.” Evie butted in. 

“I guess, I’ll drop Evie off at yours and then pick Emma up.” 

A smile donned Fletch’s face as he nodded in agreement. For the first time, in a long time, the whole lot of them would be together, even if only in an exchange of the children. 

He left the room, leaving Evie and Jac to continue with whatever they had left to do. Time ticked past half four, a message pinging through her phone from Fletch. 

— _Emma says hi! Think Evie’s caught on to us. xx_

— _What makes you think that?_

She stared at her phone for a moment, unsure as to why Evie would even have a clue that they might be together. 

— _She knows we stayed in the same bed at the hotel._

Her eyes widened at the realisation, quickly typing a response. 

— _How?_

— _It’s a long story._

She rolled her eyes at her phone, looking across to Evie who was watching her.

“What?” 

“You’re wearing dad’s hoodie.”

“You said I could.”

“But you did. Two weeks ago you would never have done that.” She was right, Jac would never have put on Fletch’s hoodie six months ago, never mind two weeks ago. 

“Well the heating worked two weeks ago.” She responded, catching Evie out of any hope that there was something romantic going on between them both. 

It was only minutes later that Jac had decided to give up on what she was working on. A day without surgery was a day that rarely occurred, and one that she rarely enjoyed. It barely took seconds for Evie to do the same, packing her bag and following Jac out of the hospital to her car. It was fancy, Jac’s car. Black on the outside and a black leather interior, something Evie was unfamiliar with as Fletch’s car was so incredibly old. 

“Can we get a takeaway?” Evie asked as Jac turned the engine on, pausing to look at Evie. 

“I’m only dropping you off and picking Emma up.”

“So you won’t stay for dinner?” She asked, a small hope wavering in her eyes that Jac tried not to look at. She shook her head and backed out of the space in front of the hospital. Jac was rarely alone with one of Fletch’s children, today being the first time really. There had been instances where Jac helped his kids, helping Ella with biology homework and taking Theo to the crèche. This drive though was the first time in such an isolated proximity that Jac realised she didn’t know what to do or what to say. Their drive to Fletch’s house was silent and boring, Evie fiddling with her fingers until she realised the car had stopped and Jac was getting out.

“Are you coming?” She asked Evie who shifted from her position, watching the surgeon walk from the car. She looked up, her eyes brightening and a smile forming, getting out of the car and walking behind Jac into the chinese takeaway.


	16. Chapter 16

Evie sat down on one of the chairs at the back of the little restaurant, Jac passing her the keys and her phone. She walked up to the counter, a tall man faced the back as she stood there, waiting. Jac hated waiting for anything, she liked things done quickly and on time, ordering a takeaway was something she’d thought would be quick, if it wasn’t for the man paying attention to the wall. 

“Excuse me?” She said, the tall man turning round to face her. 

“How can I help?” His voice was incredibly British, matching his pale skin and light brown hair. He was from the North, Jac thought, unfolding her arms and picking up the menu and looking at it. The tall man watched her, admiring her hair still tucked into the hood of the jumper that was about four sizes too big. 

“Did you want help?” He asked, tugging slightly at the edge of the menu. 

“No.” She said, moving it away. Evie laughed at this encounter quietly to herself. She watched the man watch Jac, aware that he found her beautiful. 

It took her only a few minutes to decide for the whole family what they were going to have, she ordered nearly half the menu. The gentleman, who they found out was called James, had to ask her to slow down as he wrote down the numbers. 

“Would you like my number along with that?” He asked, a sentence that caused both Jac and Evie to look up, open mouthed. 

“What?” 

“My number. If you’re single.” He stuttered a little, Jac’s face turning from confusion, to humour, to realisation. She couldn’t say yes and take it, but she couldn’t say no because then Evie would know she‘s not single. 

Jac let out a small laugh, not giving an answer but asking how long until it would be ready. 

“It’ll be a half hour wait.” He said, causing Jac to roll her eyes and take a seat next to Evie. The young girls face was unsure, more confused than anything else. She was convinced that Jac and Fletch had something. The thought that Jac might take his numberwas something she didn’t even want to think about. Jac noticed the look on Evie’s face but tried not to comment. They’d agreed last night not to tell the kids until they were for sure that this was going to work, revealing it to his daughter without Fletch there would have ruined it all. They sat in silence until James called them over, Evie still holding Jac’s phone. 

“There you go.” He smiled. Evie wasn’t paying attention to the conversation between the adults, instead she was battling with herself as to whether she should open the message on Jac’s phone from Fletch. 

“So, my number?” He said, taking out a pen and a small piece of paper. Jac looked round at Evie who was staring down, turning back to face James. 

“No.” She whispered, taking the bags and calling Evie’s name to follow behind her. Evie obliged, still looking at Jac’s phone and the message. It had a photo in it, one that she couldn’t quite make out as she was paranoid Jac would turn around and see her looking at the phone. She did turn around though, asking Evie to unlock the car as she had the keys. Evie did, walking round to her side and getting in the car with three bags sat on her lap. 

“Dad sent you a message.” Evie said, holding out the phone that Jac took. She opened the message, reading it smiling at the photo and sending a short reply. It was a photo of Emma wearing Theo’s pyjamas, one that came along with a small message. 

— _She told me to send you a photo and she can’t wait for you to come home! xx_

The words ‘come home’ caused a warm sensation to float through her body. She was only meant to be picking Emma up and now she was staying for dinner. She pushed the thought out of her mind and replied with a message telling him that they were on their way. Their drive home was still quiet, Jac trying to figure her way to Fletch’s house. 

“I won’t tell him.” Evie blurted, causing Jac to quickly look at her and then back at the road. 

“Tell who what?”

“Dad that you took the man’s number.” She said, looking down at her phone. Jac had stopped the car, finally outside Fletch’s house. 

“Evie.” She said, looking at the girl and folding her arms. 

“He’ll be upset.” She knew her dad had feelings for Jac.

“Evie.” She looked up at Jac who was displeased to say the least. “Not that it’s any of your business but I didn’t take his number.” She continued, Evie’s eyes lifting. 

“Why?” She asked, Jac’s eyes rolling as she moved to get out of the car. 

“You see me dating someone who works in a takeaway shop?” She smiled, taking some bags from Evie and walking to the front door. She’d been to Fletch’s house once before, when he didn’t show up to work after the shooting. She sat with him in the living room for the day when he’d told her he hadn’t slept for the nightmares occurring from the shooting. She sat there whilst he slept on the other side of the long sofa, tidying a little and working from his living room. She had left before the kids got home and Fletch woke up, seeing him at work the next day, acting like nothing had happened. 

“For fucks sake Fletch.” She sighed, knocking on the door and shivering in the cold. It was just gone half five as they stood outside his house. It was bigger than what she thought it was, realising that it had to hold four children and himself. He opened the door seconds later, revealing the disgruntled and cold pair. 

“Finally.” Evie sighed, pushing past her father and Jac into the house. 

“What have you got?” He asked, taking a bag from Jac. He looked inside as he walked into the house and immediately back at Jac. “A Chinese?” He asked, excited but also confused since he thought she was only picking up Emma. 

“Evie wanted me to stay for dinner and well, here I am.” She sighed, emptying the cartons onto the plates with Fletch. 

“Jac Naylor, a softie?” He winked, pinching her sides a little causing her to let out a laugh. 

“Speaking of kids, where’s mine?” She was interrupted by her daughter running in towards her, Fletch moving back. 

“Mummy!” The young girl shouted, reaching up for Jac to give her a hug. She picked her daughter up, giving her a kiss and a tight hug. 

“I missed you mummy.” She whispered in her ear, her arms around the fabric of Fletch’s hoodie. 

“I missed you too.” She replied, hugging her daughter tighter. Jac could live without anything except for Emma. Although she wasn’t the cuddle-type, Jac was always there for her daughter, every assembly at school and every prize she won, Jac was front row. Fletch watched the exchange, smiling at them both. He had been a big part of Emma’s year, picking her up from school and taking her to the hospital or to Sacha. There were times that Emma stayed at Fletch’s house when Jonny was away and Sacha was working. She’d slept in the same bed as Theo, them both being the same age and best friends. 

“Has Fletch taken care of you?” She asked her daughter as turned them both to face Adrian. Emma nodded, reaching out to give Fletch himself a hug. She passed Emma over to Fletch who tickled her tummy, asking Jac to go and get the other kids. She obliged and trekked upstairs, first into Theo’s room. 

“Dinner.” She smiled at the young boy who was playing with his toys on the floor. 

“Hi Jac.” He smiled, running towards her and cuddling her leg, smiling up at her. She let out a light laugh at the boy who waddled off down the stairs, calling out Emma’s name. She turned another corner into Mikey’s room, he was sat on his bed doing his homework even though they were on school holidays. 

“Jacula?” He asked, looking up from his book. 

“Mikey. Dinner.” 

“Why are you here?” He teased, walking past her and down the stairs causing Jac to roll her eyes. She then turned another corner to find Ella’s room vacant, spotting Evie’s door open with both of them sat on one bed. 

“Fletch told me to say that dinner’s ready.”She said, Ella’s eyes lifting to Jac’s, a big smile on her face. 

“Jac I didn’t know you were here.” She smiled, walking over to her. 

“Just here for dinner.” She replied, conscious that Evie hadn’t moved. 

“Ella tell dad Jac and I will be down in a minute.” Evie said, Ella nodded, smiling at Jac and leaving. 

They were there in silence, Jac facing Evie with her arms crossed. 

“Evie, dinner.” She reiterated, trying to figure out why Evie all of a sudden was acting so strange. 

“Are you going to hurt him?” She asked, causing Jac to spin round and face her again. 

“Evie.”

“Stop saying my name and expecting me not to continue.” She raised her voice, clearly frustrated that there was a chance her father could get hurt. “He’s my dad, and this is my family, and you’re staying for dinner.”

“You asked me to.” She shrugged, unfolding her arms in attempt to soften the atmosphere. 

“For one second can you just be normal, just be honest with me.” She sighed, standing up and facing the surgeon now. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” She huffed. They both tried to keep their voices down, aware that there were five people down stairs who were quite involved in the situation. 

“We all love you, Jac, you know that. You won’t accept it but you know it. You’ve been there for us and you’ve been there for dad and all of us, more than anything, want you to be a part of our family. But I just don’t know whether you feel the same way about dad as he does for you. Are you going to hurt him? Or us?” She sighed, her eyes filling slightly at the thought of Fletch falling apart. Jac’s eyes did too, at the confirmation of how his kids felt about her, and at the realisation that she loved them too - to a certain extent. She moved over and sat on the bed and Evie sat back down next to her. 

“The last thing I would ever do is hurt you guys or your dad.” She said, trying to avoid eye contact with Evie. “No matter what. But I need you to let me and your dad figure things out by ourselves. When we figure it out, and are ready to tell you, we will. You just need to let us do that.” She smiled, letting her guard down for a moment. “Is that okay?”

“Yes. As long as you promise.” She muttered, resting her head on Jac’s shoulder. “Can you not tell dad about this?” She asked, her head still on her shoulder. 

“Not tell dad what?” A low voice asked from the corner of the room. Fletch had appeared as Evie spoke those words, his arms crossed. Evie’s head lifted off Jac’s shoulder almost immediately, looking at the ginger-haired lady in a moment of panic. 

“Boy problems.” Jac shrugged causing Fletch to loosen his stance as Evie walked past him, running down stairs. 

“What’s really going on?” Fletch asked Jac who rose to her feet to stand in front of him. She grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his in a moment of reassurance. It was only a moment, one that went too quickly for Fletch’s liking. 

“I’ll tell you about that later, and it’s the reason I’m saying this now.” She stuttered, holding him still close to her. “We need to not be _together_ together.” She said, he recoiled slightly but not as far as he’d planned to.

“I will explain after dinner, but they’ll be waiting.” She said and he nodded, a flow of panic rushing through him as she let him go, taking his hand as they walked to the stairs. She let go of his hand, though, as they walked into the dining room, all five of the kids staring at the food in front of them.

“Oh finally.” Mikey said, rolling his eyes at the late arrival of the parents. Jac sat down at one end next to her daughter and Fletch sat at the other. They shared soft looks with one another, him trying to find an explanation for her behaviour. Dinner went by quickly, Theo and Emma in a deep discussion about toys they wanted for christmas even though it was months away, Evie, Mikey and their father were discussing their plans for Easter and Ella was asking Jac a multitude of maths questions. 

“That went down quickly!” Fletch said from the end of the table, staring at the empty plates that donned the table. The kids laughed and continued talking until Fletcher gave out some orders. 

“Mikey, shower and get ready for bed. Ella and Evie, washing up, drying up. Theo and Emma, do you want to go back upstairs and play with your toys?” He asked and the youngest two jumped down, Emma asking if that was alright from Jac, running upstairs. The kids went about their responsibilities without complaint, Fletch nodding to Jac to follow him into the living room. 

“I think you need to explain.” He said, sitting down on the sofa next to her. 

“Evie asked about us, all day she’s been doing it. Question after question.” She explained, and Fletch nodding, informing her that she’d done the same to him. “Upstairs she asked if I was going to hurt you. Of course I wouldn’t, you know that, she asked if I would hurt them, Fletch, and we spoke about the kids getting involved.” She sighed, pulling her hair from his hoodie. She was still wearing her scrubs from work, even though she didn’t operate. 

“So are you saying we just leave us?” He asked, running his hand through his stubble. 

“No.” She pleaded, their voices low and quiet do that the children couldn’t hear them. “We just need to figure us out with the kids. The trip was us, without everyone else. We need to figure it out with them too.” She breathed, both their hearts racing. 

“So I can’t kiss you?” He mumbled, his fingers tracing patterns on her cheek. 

“I don’t know.” She whispered, their heads too close for comfort. He kissed her though, slowly, bruisingly. If it wasn’t for the children, Jac would’ve taken back every word and kissed him forever. But they separated, breathing slowly and closely. 

“It’s past Emma’s bedtime, I need to get her home.” She said, standing up and walking to the stairs. Fletch followed knowing that Theo was also past his bedtime. She opened the bedroom door, hearing no noise she looked at Fletch who had a concerned look on his face. They walked in, seeing both of their children fast asleep in bed, Theo’s head at one end and Emma’s at the other. 

“What do I do?” She whispered to Fletch over her shoulder who shrugged in response. They walked out slowly, shutting the door gently and facing each other. 

“Can she stay?” Jac asked, trying to figure out Fletch’s facial expressions in the dark. 

“Course she can.” He replied, a smile growing on Jac’s face. 

“Thank you.” She whispered, following him downstairs into the kitchen. She grabbed her bag and her keys, walking to the door.

“Are you going?” A small voice asked from the corner of the kitchen, walking towards them revealing it to be Mikey, followed by Ella and Evie. 

“Yes, I’ll come back and pick Emma up in the morning.” She said, the three kids just looking at her, not saying much. 

“But I made you a cup of tea.” Mikey said, his eyes big and round. 

“No you didn’t.” Jac said, her eyes darting between the children as they tried to figure out a way to make her stay. 

“No, I didn’t. But I can.” He said, tugging on her bag. 

“Can you just stay for an hour? We watch a programme from 8-9 every night, can you just stay for that?” Ella asked, looking to her father to get Jac to stay. 

“Fine. An hour.” She warned, putting her bag down. “But I’ll take that cup of tea.” She smiled, following Evie, Ella and Fletcher into the lounge. There was one long sofa, in the shape of an ‘L’ and they all had their specific positions. Fletch was at one arm, then Evie, then Ella. Jac sat in the corner, the position being offered to her by the youngest daughter. Mikey came in minutes later with a cup of tea for his dad and for Jac, both of which he placed on the table in the middle. The TV was placed on the wall, over the fireplace and she found out they watched a crime drama, one that you didn’t need the backstory to be able to understand. Mikey’s usual position was at the other end of the sofa but he took it upon himself to sit next to Jac, his head resting on her knees. Fletch smiled at the sight in front of him as the TV played their show, never wanting it to end. 

By 9, all the kids were drifting off and when the show ended Fletch sent them off to bed, giving them all a kiss as they went. 

“You off?” He asked Jac who was curled up in the corner watching him, her legs cold now that Mikey had gone. Her hesitation caused him to cock his head to the side, watching her trying to decide what she was going to do. 

“I’ll stay here.” She yawned, covering her face as she moved to sit up. 

“I’ll stay on the sofa.” He suggested, reaching out to help her up. 

“No. It’s fine.” She breathed, “Can I borrow some joggers or something?” She asked and he nodded, indicating for her to follow him upstairs. His bedroom was right at the back of the house, they had to pass all of the kid’s bedrooms to get to his. Fletch’s room was hues of greys and blues, a big bed in the middle and a few dressers. He had a TV in his room, one that was commonly used after the kids fell asleep. The room was warm, the heat being kept in by the light grey carpet that surrounded the floor. He chucked her a t-shirt and joggers, watching her pause. 

“Seriously?”

“Turn around.” She said, pointing to the wall as she took off his hoodie. He obliged, resisting the urge to turn around and watch her. 

“Changed.” She mumbled, folding her scrubs and chucking him the hoodie. He got undressed in front of her though, taking off his joggers and t-shirt, leaving him shirtless and only in his boxers. He’d picked up the hoodie that he had worn all day and put it back on, climbing into his bed. 

“Have you got a blanket?” She asked him, fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt. He nodded and told her there was one folded at the edge of the sofa, asking her one more time if she wanted to stay up here with him, or if she wanted him to stay on the sofa. She declined though, shutting the door behind her. It took her a while to get comfy, tossing and turning for what felt like hours, her scar causing the same pins and needles that it always did. She got up again, traipsing back upstairs to find Fletch watching TV and still wide awake. 

“You alright?” He asked, his eyes panning from the TV to the small figure in the corner.

“Cold.” She mumbled, crossing the room and kneeling on his bed. 

“Do you want another blanket?” He asked, turning to face her. She shook her head, not wanting to ask for the thing she actually wanted. It was only when he caught her staring that he pulled off his hoodie, throwing it to her gently, watching her smile grow. 

“So I can’t kiss you, or touch you, but you can wear my hoodies?” He asked, watching her put it on.

“Sounds about right.” She said, her face only inches away from his. She turned round and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. 

“I thought that-“

“Just five minutes, then I’ll go downstairs.” She mumbled, interrupting him. He didn’t protest, though, only moved his arm to curl around her side. They were sat there, surely longer than five minutes, Fletch watching TV and listening to Jac’s breathing, Jac slipping from consciousness, listening to his heart beat.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Perhaps read the last part of the previous chapter if you've been waiting a while.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! x

Jac did go downstairs though, sticking to her rule of sleeping on the sofa, snaking her way off the bed and onto the sofa for the rest of the night. The kids had woken up early, Emma first who ran downstairs to watch the sunrise with Jac, as they always did. They both left before the kids came downstairs, Jac still wearing Fletch’s clothes. She had to leave her scrubs there, knowing she’d have to go to her house to get some fresh ones, taking his clothes with her to work. They had both worked together that day, trying to catch a glimpse of one another when they were doing separate things. She’d been busy that morning, in and out of theatre and diagnosing a bunch of patients. Fletch had been in theatre with her, she rarely let another theatre nurse scrub in with her, even before Fletch and Jac had admitted their feelings. The heating hadn’t come on yet, something that Jac made it her mission to fix, regardless of what or who it inconvenienced. She tried not to wear the hoodie though, the one from last night that smelt exactly like him. She gave it all back to him, Theo’s pyjamas that Emma wore, Fletch’s joggers and t-shirt, him receiving them gratefully. He took the hoodie too, it was his favourite one after all.

A fair amount of time had passed, his kids were back at school at the beginning of May and work had been busy. There had been more electives than ever but few accidents, allowing Jac to teach her registrars and foundation doctors, focusing also on her new ideas. She hadn’t really stayed at Fletch’s since that one night, she’d dropped Emma off though to play with Theo and she’d spent some time with Ella and Evie, something Fletch had appreciated. They’d made a deal, they wouldn’t date other people, they weren’t really sure what they were doing. It was Jac’s birthday, something she didn’t celebrate, though Fletch wasn’t around. He had been a little bit off recently, he hadn’t come in to see her that often and he hadn’t touched her back like he usually did when he walked past her. It wasn’t until Evie rang her at the end of the shift, asking her to come round, that she knew something was wrong. It was a short day, Jac was able to finish her work around 4pm. Evie never asked her to come round so blatantly, it was normally subtle hints that Jac caught onto. When she uttered the words “Dad’s ill, we haven’t got anything for dinner” Jac left. Sacha had Emma for the day, aware it was Jac’s birthday but also aware that it was a day Jac never bothered to celebrate.

She knocked on the door, expecting to find Evie or Ella opening the door. It was Fletch instead, dressed in joggers and a t-shirt, looking absolutely fine.

“I thought you were ill?” She asked, standing at the door with her arms folded. She hadn’t brought anything with her, planning on going home to watch some sort of TV and have Sacha make dinner.

“Evie?” He yelled, still not letting Jac in. The young girl appeared next to him, “What was the story?” He asked, causing Jac to shift as she stood in the cold.

“Oh that you were ill.” She smiled causing Fletch to excuse himself for a moment and shut the door. Jac knocked again, frustrated now, the door opening to Evie smiling.

“Evie what’s going on, I thought-“ She was interrupted by Evie walking off into the house, leaving Jac to follow, rolling her eyes.

She walked into the dining room, all four of Fletch’s kids sat around the table and Emma sat in the same place that she was the night of the takeaway. Her daughter hugged her, whispering ‘happy birthday’ in her ear, causing Jac to understand the situation.

“What’s going on?” She asked the six people in front of her who smiled, looking down at the food one the table.

“It’s your birthday.” Mikey said, watching Jac stare at each of them.

“It is.” She replied.

“So we asked dad if we could surprise you.” Evie interrupted.

“You did.”

“He said no.” Ella continued.

“He did?” She said looking at Fletch who tried not to make direct eye contact with her.

“They insisted.” He mumbled.

“They did.” She continued, still standing in the doorway.

“Dad made a big dinner while we were at school.” Mikey continued, looking down at the food. There was a lot of food, pizza’s, chips, salads and everything else sat in the middle of the table.

“I see that.” She said, still unhappy at the surprise.

“Is that ok, mummy? Did we do something wrong?” Emma said, looking up at her mother who smiled at her.

“No, you didn’t.” She smiled, walking over to the table. “You’re all very lucky I’m hungry.” She breathed, sitting down in the same position at the end of the table. The whole table erupted into light cheers, them all digging in to their dinners, making loud and excited conversation. She watched them all, Ella and Emma laughing together, Theo joining in. She watched Evie and Mikey argue over their programme that they’d watch tonight causing Fletch to roll his eyes. By the time they’d finished there was an eery silence, the kids looking at Fletch and then at Jac, and then back to Fletch again.

“Don’t get mad.” Mikey said causing Jac to raise her eyebrows and fold her arms, leaning back in her chair.

“What have you done.” Fletch asked, looking at the kids.

“You said you bought Jac some presents.” Ella said, Fletch nodding and Jac watching the situation in front of her.

“We wanted to buy her some too.” Evie shrugged, Jac’s eyes widening as she looked at the kids.

“I don’t need anything from you guys.” She smiled, appreciative of the gesture but shocked at the same time.

Fletch had found out later that the kids had used their pocket money to buy some things for Jac, something he had no idea about or how they got them.

“Dad take Jac to the lounge and we will clean up.” Ella said, getting all the kids to take their plates into the kitchen.

“Theo do you want to get ready for bed?” Fletch asked his son who nodded and ran up the stairs leaving Emma sat on the chair next to Jac.

“Mummy can we stay?” She asked her, a question that caused all three kids to step out from the kitchen, popping their heads around the corner.

“This isn’t our house, baby.”

“Please?” The girl begged, looking at the kids behind her and then back to Jac.

“You have to ask Fletch.” She replied, looking at Fletch. All the kids were looking at him, their looks warning him that if he said no then there would be consequences. He laughed and nodded, reassuring Emma that of course she could stay but she’d have to go and get ready for bed, which she did, running upstairs.

Fletch walked to the living room, Jac following behind, opening the door to reveal a bunch of presents sat in the corner.

“Your kids.” She said, standing to face him.

“I’m sorry, I honestly didn’t know that they would do this.” He said, and it was true. He’d organised for the kids and Jac to have dinner, yes, and for Sacha to drop Emma and her presents off, yes. He’d bought presents on behalf of the kids so that they wouldn’t, a plan that had clearly backfired. It was minutes later that they all reappeared, Emma and Theo in matching pyjamas, Evie, Ella and Mikey traipsing in with two cups of tea for Jac and Fletch. They all sat on the floor, a routine that they performed whenever it was one of their birthdays, handing presents to Jac who sat next to Fletch in front of the children. Emma had got her a couple of shirts and some chocolates, something that Sacha had clearly organised. Sacha hadn’t given her any presents, instead promised to do the laundry everyday for two weeks, something Jac appreciated more than a gift. The gifts that Fletch bought on behalf of the kids were just chocolates, things that each of the Fletchlings rolled their eyes too. Theo and Emma had left the room, playing with their toys in his bedroom as they didn’t particularly understand what was going on.

“My present first.” Evie said, handing over a big wrapped present and one smaller one. Jac opened it slowly, aware that she might have to pretend to like the present, working on a fake surprise face. She didn’t need to though, she opened the smaller one to reveal a black pen with a small engraving of ‘J. Naylor’ in the side. The larger present was a collection of three black notebooks, each one lined and empty.

“Dad said you filled up your notebooks with your ideas and patient notes, so I got you some more.” Evie said, Jac looking down at the notebooks and pens.

“Thank you, Evie.” She smiled, the girl’s grin widening in satisfaction that she did a good job.

Ella chose to give her present next, it was a small present, wrapped well although it’s distinctive shape gave it away immediately. It was a black mug with ‘Good at everything’ written on the front.

“We all have family mugs at home with something on it, Mikey’s says ‘Loud and irritating’.” She laughed, “So now you have one too.” She smiled, looking for approval from Jac which she got, a thank you and a smile. Mikey had moved to go and get his as it was hidden away. It was a soft and large present, one that he struggled to carry over. She unwrapped it slowly, already knowing what it was when she ripped off the tape. “It’s a blanket.” Mikey said, pointing to the present. “Ella said that you and Dad won’t sleep in the same bed yet, which I don’t understand.” He continued causing Jac to laugh and Fletch to look at the ceiling. “So when you stay, you aren’t cold.” He smiled, and Jac thanked him. The blanket was massive, it was thick and warm, it covered the whole ‘L’ shaped sofa. “I had to borrow some money from Evie.” He sighed, Fletcher smiling at the generosity of his children. They all sat there, Jac collecting her gifts into a pile and trying to fold up the blanket that Mikey took upon himself to prove how big it was.

“Dad, what about your present for Jac.” Ella asked, looking between them both.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” He shrugged, moving the small present behind his back. Jac sat there watching him, he was unsure whether his present was good enough after everything the kids got her. He passed it to her though, aware that all the kids eyes were on them. She opened it slowly, like she did with all the other presents. She unwrapped it to see her scrub cap, the same one she always wore. She lifted it up to reveal one of the ties, it had her name sewn into it. “I saw you were looking for a second one.” He smiled. Her hands felt the fabric, it was exactly the same has her original one. She was operating so much that she had to speed wash it so she could operate again, having a second one would make her life a lot easier. It was impossible to find though, she had searched for one for months.

“Thank you.” She whispered. It meant a lot to her, that he’d noticed. Her scrub cap was her most prized possession, she had convinced herself that she couldn’t operate without it.

  
“That’s boring.” Mikey mumbled, getting up as the other kids followed.

“Half an hour and then TV?” Evie asked, Fletch nodding as they left the lounge to go to their own bedrooms. Jac sat there for a moment, looking at the gifts around her. They all knew her well, they saw through the coldness that she portrayed at work and to people she didn’t know, or like.

“I think I love your kids.” She whispered causing Fletch to look down at her.

“They love you.” He replied, kissing her on her forehead.

They moved seconds later, it being past half seven they had to put their youngest to bed. Theo and Emma were already in bed, awake, waiting to be given a hug. They weren’t reluctant to sleep, after Jac and Fletch left they were completely unconscious, making their lives a lot easier. She got changed into his clothes again, making him turn around as she changed. He jumped into his bed, patting the space next to him. 

“We have to go downstairs.” She sighed, walking around to his wardrobe, pulling out one of his hoodies.

“Can you stop wearing all of my hoodies and just stick to the same one?” He asked as she put it on, Jac shaking her head as she walked over.

“Downstairs.”

“We have like five minutes.” He sighed, looking at his watch. She sat on the bed, the same side as last time, placing her head on the pillow. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Fletch looking at her and then looking away, not sure what to say. “Are you okay?” He asked, pushing the pillow down so he could see her face. “Jac?”

“I’m happy.” She whispered, almost inaudibly. 

“You’re what?” He asked and she repeated her words, still not looking at him.

“I can’t hear you.” He whispered and she turned to him.

“I’m not saying it again.” She breathed, rolling over so she was inches away from him.

“Can you remind me why I can’t kiss you?” He asked, moving her hair behind her ears.

“Because, the kids.” She said. She didn’t really have a good enough reason and she knew that, but she was interrupted by Mikey coming in. His hands were covering his eyes as he wandered in, sliding against the wall for guidance.

“Can I look?” He said, causing both Jac and Fletch to let out a small laugh. “Evie said I should cover my eyes in case I saw something I didn’t want to see.” His words caused Jac to throw her head back slightly and Fletch to look at the ceiling in slight embarrassment. 

“You can look.” Fletch said, Mikey opening his eyes.

“It’s eight.” He said and both of them stood up, following him downstairs. Jac assumed the position in the corner, Mikey resting his head on her legs again as they fought over what they would watch. They ended up watching the Great British Bake Off, of all things. Jac couldn’t cook and it didn’t interest her at all, but she enjoyed the moment. Fletch was entranced in the programme, leaving the room and coming back with a pen and paper to make notes, something that set off the kids laughing. The programme finished, all three kids going upstairs to sleep, Fletch following them.

“Are you sure you’re fine on the sofa?” He asked her as she picked up Mikey’s blanket.She nodded and smiled, curling up in a ball in the corner. He was too far away to make it seem convenient for him to kiss her forehead or touch her, so he walked upstairs. She was comfortable, though, in his hoodie and joggers, wrapped in the blanket. She thought about her current situation, trying to find a way to keep it going, finding any issue and trying to find a solution in her head. They were working, sort of. When they were at his house with the kids, there was nothing better. At work, he was distant, afraid to ruin something or move too close in case she didn’t want that. She wanted that more than anything in the world. She was broken from her train of thought though when Mikey wandered in, trying to spot Jac in the darkness of the room.

“Jac?” His voice said, it was smaller than normal.

“Mikey?”

“Jac?” Another voice perked, Ella. Jac turned on the light that was sat in the middle of the coffee table revealing the three eldest children stood in front of her.

“Everyone ok?” She asked them, Evie placing a hand on Ella’s shoulder.

“It’s your birthday.”

“Not news to me.”

“You shouldn’t be alone on your birthday.” Ella said, sitting down next to Jac.

“You have school in the morning.” She warned, watching them all looking at her whilst she sat forward. “Your dad isn’t going to be happy that you’re all awake.” She whispered, the kids didn’t give up though, they just stood in front of her.

“He wouldn’t be happy would he.” Said Fletch who was stood at the doorway, watching his children turn around to face him.

“Dad, we just thought-“ Evie said before she was interrupted.

“I know what you thought, I heard you planning it in Ella’s bedroom.” He laughed, walking over. “You want to sleep down here with Jac?” He asked his children who all nodded violently at him. He looked at Jac who nodded at him, and they all plopped themselves down next to her. Evie was at one end of the sofa, then Ella, then Jac and then Mikey who was curled up to Jac like he always did. They were all covered in the big blanket that Mikey got Jac. Fletch looked at them all, Jac talking to Mikey as he asked her if she would be here in the morning. She nodded and said she would be there, causing the young boy to smile and lean into her, Fletch’s smile growing.

“Are you joining, Dad?” Evie asked as she watched him watch them.

“No, I’m going back to my bed. But I don’t want to hear any talking okay?” He said to them all, kissing each of his children on their heads. He moved from Mikey to Jac, smiling at her as she looked at him. He gave her a kiss on her forehead too, lingering slightly before pulling away, his hand running across her cheek before he left. She laid there, listening to three children breathe in their sleep, three children that didn’t belong to her. She wouldn’t mind if they did, she thought to herself, she liked it. She knew that Emma loved all of them and that they loved her. It was a weird feeling, letting people love her. It was even weirder for her to love other people. It wasn’t just Fletch himself, it was his whole clan of children. They all came down to sleep with her so she wasn’t alone, that was enough for her to know that her and Fletch could do it, maybe, possibly, hopefully.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since I left it so long, have another chapter 
> 
> xx

“Fletch.” She whispered, running her hand across his face, an urgency in her voice.

“Yeah?” He mumbled, his eyes floating open. The moment he was awake she moved back, looking for her scrubs that she was wearing yesterday.

“There’s been an emergency, six casualties all sent up to Darwin.” She breathed causing him to jump out of bed. He chucked her the scrubs that she was looking for and she undressed in front of him, not even thinking about it in her current state of panic. It was just after six in the morning, all the children were asleep.

“Is there any way you can get in for 7:30?” She asked him and he nodded. “I promised Mikey that I’d be there when he woke up.” She sighed as she put her trainers on, her keys rattling in her hand.

“He’ll understand. I don’t know how I’ll get the kids to school. I can’t leave them here alone.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

“Sacha’s at home. He isn’t working this week and he’s staying today and then going to Francesca’s when I finish work. Take the kids there, Theo and Emma can go to the créche.” She breathed, running down the stairs as he followed her.

“Are you sure?” He asked, unlocking the door as she walked out.

“Yes. Get them to bring a bag or something, it might be a long day.” She said as she walked to her car. He nodded and smiled, making breakfast for them all before he woke them up.

When Fletch arrived on the ward, he saw the chaos that Jac was referring to. The only issue was that he had two children in his arms. He searched for Jac in her office and across Darwin, only to be told she was in theatre. There was no way she would come out of theatre to tell her daughter to go down to the creche, and therefore he sat them both in his office, leaving every now and then to do obs on patients. It was when he came back to his office that he saw the fire-haired lady walking to her office, ripping off her scrub cap. He picked both children up, taking them to her office as the other doctors stared at him.

“We have an issue.” He said as he walked in, watching Jac turn around.

“What’s happened?” She asked, taking Emma from his grip.

“She wouldn’t go to the creche without seeing you.” He sighed as Emma cuddled her mum, nestling her head into her neck. “And Theo wouldn’t go down without Emma.” He rolled his eyes, Jac doing the same. Theo was reaching out to give Jac a hug and she took him from Fletch, looking at the time. It was just gone nine, she’d been in theatre since she started athalf six. There was a light knock on her office door, one that Jac commanded to come in. Cameron appeared, updating her on the patient that Frieda had just operated on.

“I just finished operating on Mrs. Strown, she’s in recovery. How is everyone else? ” She asked, passing Emma to Fletch who wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Stable.” He said, giving a smile to Theo who was looking between her and Jac.

“Okay. I need you to page me if something happens.” She said to Cameron who nodded, watching the two parents speak to the other’s child. “Are we ready to go?” She asked Emma who was cuddling Fletch, she nodded and so did Theo, walking past Cameron to go downstairs. They darted down to the creche, dropping off the children and running back upstairs, Fletch informing her that she owes Sacha one. Jac rolled her eyes, walking onto the ward to find Frieda rushing a patient to theatre.

“What the hell happened?” She asked, rushing over to the doctors as Cameron followed. “Why wasn’t I paged?” She yelled, looking at Dr. Dunn and then back at the patient.

“You were with the kids.” He stuttered causing Jac to whip her head round to the irritating F1.

“I told you to page me.”

“You can discuss this later.” Frieda said, “Take him to Theatre 4.” She continued, nodding for the nurses to go.

“No.” Jac shouted stopping the nurses in their track.

“No? Jac just because he didn’t page you doesn’t mean-“ Frieda blurted but being interrupted by Jac.

“No because all the Darwin theatres are in use, I said page me so that I could stabilise the patient instead of having to sort out this exact situation.” She yelled. “Dr. Dunn, my office.” She pointed, informing him that she’d be there shorty.

“What theatre, Jac?” Frieda pressed, concerned about the deterioration of the patient.

“Okay, all of ours are full, so is AAU.” She said, her thoughts becoming verbal. “Theatre 11.” She said, noting that Sacha wasn’t in and he kept theatre 11 spare only for emergencies.

“How do you know that?” She said, surprised that Jac could figure that out, realising she wouldn't have been able to. Frieda's future goal was to be like Jac, she was getting there, but she was still so far away.

“Because this is my ward, my job, I know everything. So when I say page me, I mean page me.” She huffed, giving Frieda the green light to take the patient down. It was only seconds later that Jac was marching into her office, getting Fletch to come in so that he could verify everything that she was going to say.

“What part of page me, Dr. Dunn, do you not understand?” She asked, sitting down in her chair with Fletch stood next to her.

“I just thought that you were with Fletch and the children-“

“First of all, it’s Nurse Fletcher, and I don’t care what you thought. I told you to do something and you disregarded it.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He stuttered, looking at Jac who was figuring out what to say.

“You weren’t thinking. If I was a man, you would have paged me regardless of what I was doing, we both know that. This is your final warning, Dr. Dunn. If anything like this happens again, you’re gone.”

“I understand.” He nodded, walking to the door.

“You’re out of theatre for two weeks.” She said, causing him to turn around and look at Fletch.

“That’s not fair.” He said, his voice raised now causing Jac to stand from her chair.

“Did I stutter? Your incompetence never fails to amaze me. You are only here because of your mother’s links to Serena. Is that clear?” She asked and he nodded his head opening the door and leaving.

“You shouldn’t have brought the kids up here.” She yelled at Fletch as she stood to face him, watching him. “Not Emma, not Theo.” She continued, picking up her scrub cap. He stood there just watching her, fiddling with the loose ties of the cap.

“Is that the one I got you?” He asked, breaking her train of thought.

“Is that all you have to say?” She said, her voice still raised, clearly irritated.

“You’re not angry at me. You would have preferred me to bring Emma up here than leave her crying downstairs. We both know that.” He said, walking to open the door. “So you can pretend to be angry at me or you could just admit that I did the right thing and be angry only at Cameron.” He said as he opened the door, Jac stood next to her desk, figuring out what to say. She didn’t say anything, just looked at her scrub cap and then back up at him. She didn’t move, just stood there.

“Well?” He asked, the door still open as he expected an answer. She didn’t give on though, her anger still raw from the behaviour of Cameron.“Okay, no. Not with me, Naylor. What Cameron did was wrong and you told him and he knows. You don’t get to project that onto me, got it?” He said, letting the door close as he walked over to her. She paused for a moment, looking up at him.

“Fine.” She breathed, she wasn’t going to say thank you, or that she was grateful and he knew that too.

“Good.” He said, opening the door as she walked towards it, chucking him her scrub cap and walking off. He checked the tie at the back and it was the one he gave her, with her name stitched on the back.

The rest of the day consisted of Jac and Fletch getting on with what they needed to, Jac didn’t have to go back into surgery, instead she caught up on work that hadn’t been done and demanded that the heating in her office should be fixed. Hanssen obliged, not willing to risk an argument with Jac Naylor in the hallways of the hospital, one that he’d inevitably lose anyway. They were busy, Fletch had to scrub in on a long-haul operation that Jac gave to Frieda, allowing Jac to teach Nicky some techniques that she needed to progress to become an F2. She didn’t know the time when she walked into Fletch’s office to tell him she was going to go home.

“What’s happened?” She said as she saw both Theo and Emma sat on the sofa in Fletch’s office. She walked over to Emma, giving her a hug and then receiving one from Theo.

“Nothing, it’s half six.” He sighed, his head in his hands as he looked at his computer screen.

“Oh it closes at six, shit sorry.” She said, aware that she said she’d pick them up earlier. He didn’t respond though, scrolling through his emails and opening some files. “I was going to head home.” She continued, walking over to him.

“I’m not going to be able to get out of here for a while.” He said, looking up at Jac. “Are you sure you can handle the kids?” He asked, looking back at Theo and reminding her she had three more of his at home.

“We will see.” She sighed, picking up her bag and Theo, Emma holding her hand. Fletch gave Theo a small hug, telling him that he’d see him later, even though it was highly unlikely, and Jac left.

The drive home was silent, except from some giggles coming from the back. As she walked in the house, both kids ran to find the older ones, Theo following Emma.

“Sacha?” Jac called, hoping that he was still here and that the kids hadn’t drove him insane.

“Kitchen.” He replied, Jac following his voice into the completely white and black room. Her kitchen was big, black cabinets along the floor and wall contrasted against the white paint.

“I’ve made dinner, all you need to do is put it in the oven.” He smiled, “The kids have been fine.”

“Okay, I think I can do that. I do owe you.” She smiled as he gave her a hug. Sacha was one of the few people that Jac truly loved. Sacha saw through Jac from the start, ignoring her meanness and her harshness and instead accepting it and bringing out her true self.

“You could just tell me what’s happening between you and Adrian.” He winked causing Jac to shove him a little, picking up his suitcase and heading to the door.

“Maybe when you get back. See you in a week.” She smiled, shutting the door behind him. She took a moment to herself, looking at the time. It was nearly seven which meant that Emma and Theo had to go to bed soon. She put the pasta bake that Sacha had made in the oven, standing at the bottom of the stairs, calling for the children. They all ran down, forming a line in front of her.

“Okay, did you all bring clothes and stuff with you?” She asked, watching them all nod. “Okay, dinner might take a while so can you all get a shower and get ready for bed?” She asked again, them all agreeing. Evie, Ella and Mikey ran upstairs to the room’s that they’d picked to stay in whilst Jac walked both Emma and Theo upstairs, getting them both changed and ready for bed. By the time she was done both of them had started playing with their toys, giving Jac some time to herself. On her way out she saw Evie coming towards her, a smile on her face.

“Your house is amazing.” She smiled and Jac didn’t respond, untying her hair from the twelve hour day she’d had. “When is dad coming back?” She asked, following Jac into her bedroom.

“I assume he’ll come and get you tomorrow morning.” She shrugged and Evie raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“If he’s coming tomorrow why did he bring his own stuff in a bag?” She asked, pointing to the small black bag that laid on her bed.

“Oh, right.” She said, sitting on her bed, watching Evie just standing there. “Did you want something?” Jac asked, her tone clearly irritated.

“No, sorry.” She said, walking out of the room in silence. Jac regretted her bitterness, placing her head in her hands and patiently waiting for Fletch to walk through the door. He didn’t though, and she knew he wouldn’t as she saw the number of emails that were on his computer.

“Jac.” A small voice said from the corner of the hallway, waiting for Jac’s response.

“Yeah?” She said from her bedroom, pulling on her t-shirt and leggings, walking out to see Mikey stood there.

“I don’t know how to work the shower.” He said, shy and quiet, worried that he looked stupid. Jac let out a small laugh, following him to the room he’d picked to stay in. Jac had three spare bedrooms, one for Sacha, one for his daughter Francesca and then one that is never touched. She didn’t like her big house, it felt too empty when Emma wasn’t there and her nights at the hospital had increased when she was alone. She turned the shower on for Mikey, leaving him and then rushing downstairs, smelling a smell she could only describe as burning.

“Tell me you’re fucking joking.” She whispered to herself, opening the oven to find the pasta bake had burned, a black layer covering the top of it. “Shit.” She mumbled, putting it on the side and leaning on the worktop. She had no idea what she was going to do, normally Sacha would do it himself but she was alone with five children. Evie came downstairs slowly, watching Jac recoil from the burnt dinner, trying to conceal her smile. The rest of the kids followed, Mikey who was finally showered, with Ella behind him.

“What have you done?” Mikey teased, rushing a hand through his wet hair. Jac turned to look at them all trying their best not to laugh at the state of their dinner.

“Right, how do you all feel about a McDonalds?” She asked, watching their faces light up.

“Dad doesn’t let us eat McDonalds.” Evie said, folding her arms and watching Jac fold her arms back.

“Your dad isn’t here, is he?” She said, grabbing her keys and walking to the door.

“We won’t tell if you don’t.” Ella replied, excited to be defying her father.

“Text me what you want, I will literally be 10 minutes. Try not to set the house on fire. Evie you’re in charge.” She said pointing to the young girl as she walked out the door.

She was ten minutes, walking back into a suspiciously quiet house, one that was still standing, though. She walked into the dining room to see all five kids sat there, table mats and cutlery placed out like they were having a proper dinner.

“I know I’m strict but I’m not going to make you eat a McDonalds at the table.” She laughed, watching the kids relax and smile. They all rushed into Jac’s living room. It was large, two soft grey sofa’s sat in the middle and a white fluffy rug in the centre. She had a fireplace like Fletch did that sat under the television, one that she turned on as the kids sat on the floor. Emma sat on Jac’s knee, Theo beside her as she helped them eat, they were only five years old. It took around ten minutes for the youngest to finish, Jac taking them both upstairs to brush their teeth and put them to bed.

“I want Daddy.” Theo cried into her shoulder, refusing to sleep until Fletch came in.

“He’s not here, but he’ll be here soon.” She whispered, running her hand through Emma’s hair as she was upset that Theo was upset. She picked him up and walked him around the room, telling him some made-up story, him finally drifting off after half an hour. She placed him down on Emma’s bed, covering him with the duvet and shutting the door gently. She kept looking at her phone, waiting for a text from Fletch to say he was coming home. She walked downstairs, hearing loud noises coming from the living room.

“What is going on?” She said to the three children who were arguing.

  
“Mikey wants to watch TV.” Ella said, holding the controller in the air so that he couldn’t get it.

“Give it to me.” She said, Ella passing it to her. “What do you want to watch?” She asked Mikey who said he wanted to watch a Disney film. Ella surprisingly agreed and Evie was indifferent, causing Jac to have to give in and watch the Lion King. She sat and watched it, Mikey crying a little and even Evie put her phone down to watch it. Jac was starting to get concerned that Fletch hadn’t messaged her to let her know she was on his way home. She had put her phone aside though, trying to pay attention to the kids, making sure nothing went wrong. She had convinced herself that he wasn’t coming home and instead would go to his house until a text message popped up.

— ' _Just finished everything, on my way x'_ The message read, causing Jac to look at the time, realising it was half past nine and that the kids were still wide awake. It then took her another second to see the McDonalds bags and cartons all over the table, giving away the fact that she’d burnt the dinner.

“Your dad is on his way home.” She said as she turned the TV off, all three of them letting out a frustrated groan at the fact they’d only gotten half way through the film. “We need to tidy this up.” She said, getting the kids off their feet to help. They did help, chucking the evidence in the bin, cleaning the tables and putting away the plates that they originally set out in the dining room. It was only then that Jac realised that the burnt pasta bake was still out and she knew it would be about fifteen minutes until Fletch was home. As the kids put the clean plates next to the sink to make it look like they had been washed, Jac tried to scrape the burnt food from the glass dish. It failed though, much to the amusement of the children.

“Bin it!” Mikey said, watching her struggle.

“It”s Sacha”s favourite dish.” She sighed, watching the kids stuffing the bin to make room for the dish. She chucked it in, Mikey covering it with some newspaper that was on the side just incase Fletch happened to peak at the contents of her bin.

“Right are we ready for bed?” She asked all the children who were clearly worn out. They all nodded and headed upstairs, Mikey being slightly hesitant to go, but he followed.

“Goodnight Jac.” They all smiled from the top of the stairs, wandering off into their bedrooms, Evie and Ella deciding to share one as they didn’t particularly want to be alone. She said goodnight to them all, wandering back into the living room to make sure it was tidy. She’d started to really love his kids, Evie because Evie understood it, Ella because she was just a good kid and Mikey, well Jac was never fond of Mikey, because he had an attitude. It was only recently that Mikey had let Jac in, phoning her a few months ago with a nightmare and now cuddling her on the sofa. She would do anything for them. She loved Emma, of course, she loved Emma more than the world, and she loved Theo, purely because he often favourited Jac over Fletch. It was only when Jac was in her bedroom that she heard her front door open and close, the soft creak of feet coming up the stairs that she realised Fletch was home. He walked straight into her bedroom to find an exhausted Jac sat on her bed, her back aching from a long day of work and then from the real stress of five children.

“Oh, nice of you to show up.” She mumbled, watching him walk into the room. Her real thought was ‘thank god you’re here’, but she wouldn’t allow herself to tell him that.

“Look I am so sorry.” He said, taking off his tie and walking towards her. “How was it?”

“Very busy. Theo wouldn’t go to sleep without seeing you, but apart from that, smooth sailing.” She sighed, it was a small lie, it wasn’t really smooth sailing. Burning the dinner, leaving them alone in the house to get food that Fletch didn’t allow his kids to eat, making up stories to get Theo to sleep, watching half a Disney film and then trying to hide McDonald’s evidence like they were at a crime scene. She wasn’t going to tell him that, though.

“Are they all asleep?” He asked her, opening his bag and chucking on a pair of joggers, leaving his top half bare. She nodded in response, telling him she was going to get a glass of water. He followed her out, walking into Emma’s room to see a sleeping Theo, giving him a light kiss on his forehead and heading out. He walked past Mikey’s room, knowing he’d be asleep and any sort of noise would wake that boy up. He heard small mumblings from Evie’s room, hearing her’s and Ella’s conversation.

“Do you think Jac loves dad?” He heard Ella ask Evie as he stood outside their bedroom.

“I think so.”

“Then why won’t they stay in the same room together?” She asked her older sister, a question that Fletch didn’t really know the answer to.

“Jac said something about them wanting to figure it out, so I don’t ask questions.” She replied, “But I think she does.”

“Yeah, I mean she did everything for us tonight. I’ve never seen her like that before.”

“Me neither, I love her though.” Evie said, Ella replying with, “I love her too, I hope she doesn’t leave.” It was enough for Fletch then, as he quietly made his way back into Jac’s bedroom, waiting for her to appear. She did, seconds later, her glasses on and her water in her hand.

She took her leggings off, replacing them with a pair of her own joggers, getting straight into bed. She looked at Fletch who was watching her, looking at the duvet and then back at Jac.

“Are you waiting for an invitation?” She asked, watching him lean his head back slightly, rolling his eyes.

“So I’m allowed to stay in the same bed as you now, am I?’

“Yes.” She nodded, Fletch not hesitating and getting in, the warmth of the bed already causing his eyes to droop. Jac turned on the tv that was on the wall in front of the bed, the light and soft noise causing Fletch to sit up slightly and shuffle, very subtly, towards Jac. Her head landed on his chest, gently, as they watched the nonsense that was on the television at half past ten. There was nothing interesting on, only Jac mumbling away about her busy day tomorrow, but relieved her first elective wasn’t until ten.

“What did the kids have for dinner?” He asked her out of the blue, so randomly in fact that Jac wondered if he’d spotted something lying around.

“I made a pasta bake and I chucked it in the oven for us.” She shrugged against him, hoping that her lie would stick. It wasn’t a lie, really, she had chucked it in the oven, just for a little while too long.

“You didn’t burn it or turn it into a disaster?” He asked, surprised.

“No!” She whispered at him, instead of to him. He knew her too well, but she wanted to prove to him that she could manage to survive with the children. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, Fletch drifting off to sleep and Jac turning off the television. She heard a patter outside her door, like soft footsteps which came and disappeared. It was a few moments later that the patter came all the way in, Jac able to see Mikey’s face as she hadn’t turned off her bedside lamp.

“Jac?’ The small voice whispered, coming closer to the bed.

“Yeah?” She replied, her hand being grabbed by Mikey’s.

“I had another nightmare.” He said causing Fletch to wake up, concerned with Mikey being up so late.

“Jac I can deal with it.” He sighed, sitting up.

“It’s fine.” She replied, moving her legs so that the young boy could sit on the edge of the bed. “Now, do you want to get a warm drink downstairs or do you want to jump in bed?” She asked him and a small smile grew on his face.

“Both?” He whispered, pulling on Jac’s hand to get her to move. She did, following him down the stairs, leaving Fletch in bed with the biggest grin on his face. They were back upstairs about fifteen minutes later, Jac getting in to the bed first and then Mikey climbing over her into the middle. He curled up to Jac, playing with her fingers as he dozed off, Jac shortly after. She’d left her bedside light on so that Mikey didn’t get scared, enabling Fletch to see them both. Although frustrated that he couldn’t have a night alone with Jac, just to hold her or kiss her, his heart tingled at the sight. She’d left early in the morning but had come home so that the kids were okay, a role she never thought she’d play, one that she didn’t think she’d like, but one that she did since it didn’t inconvenience her job. He smiled, drifting off to sleep with the three bodies in the bed, a warmth radiating through the house.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so sorry that I haven't updated this in so long. I even had to re-read the previous chapter to understand what this one was continuing on from! I hope you enjoy x

The following morning Jac had left, rushing to work and leaving a note for Fletch. As the week went on the kids slowly began to get upset when Jac left, loving it when she was here and hating it when she wasn’t. It had caused arguments between the parents, Jac reminding him that she was a surgeon and Fletch reminding her that they were kids and they loved her. The arguments about that very situation continued, but so did the cycle. Fletch’s babysitter had quit, leaving him unable to get into work on time and not being able to finish his work in the evening. It wasn’t just convenient for Jac to help, she just did what she had done previously. So did Fletch. Whoever was the busiest came home later, the other left earlier the next morning resulting in Jac having to do the school run once or twice. This was a new territory for her, dropping them off. It was only when their teacher came to speak to Jac about their absences that things got a bit difficult for her. Everything else had been smooth sailing - she’d drop Mikey off first, then Ella and Evie off further down, she didn’t even have to get out of the car. Fletch still made their lunches and washed their uniform, Jac just told them to put them on. There had been some days where the lack of a babysitter and a full Darwin Ward meant that the kids had to go with them into work. Jac took Emma and Theo to the creche and Fletch set up the older ones in his office. It only raised suspicion between the other doctors when Jac would go in and talk to the children voluntarily, Frieda raising her eyebrows and smiling, knowing she was right all along. However, absences from school left Jac in a situation when she walked into the front office with Mikey, who had lost his jacket. The headteacher came across, asking Jac if she was involved with the children in which she nodded along to, informing her that she would need to see either her or Fletcher, preferably both at the end of the day. She’d gone back to the hospital trying to find Fletch to explain the situation.

“What time is this meeting at?” He asked, stood in her office.

“Four.” She groaned, sorting her folders on her desk. It had been busy at work but today wasn’t too bad, there were no electives and the patients all seemed stable, a relief for a Friday.

“I doubt I’ll make it.” He sighed, frustrated that his job had got in the way of the kids’ education.

“How about if we both go, the first one there goes to the meeting and the second takes the kids.” She suggested, his eyes smiling.

“Are you sure? That teacher is awful.” He said, resting his thighs against her desk.

“I’m sure I can handle it.” She smiled, putting her glasses on and going through her paperwork, an indication for him to leave which he followed.

They spent the rest of the day apart, Jac filling out paperwork to get Nicky to an F2, Frieda and Zosia coming in and out with scans and questions, ones that Jac answered and then dismissed moments later. Fletch was in and out of theatre and meetings, discussing rota changes and further cuts to the NHS that affected the staffing levels. By the time it was half three Jac had been able to leave, instructing Frieda to page her incase there was an emergency. She’d got to the school only fifteen minutes later, waiting for the kids to come out and for the teacher to follow suit. The kids came though, with no teacher to be seen.

“Jac?” Evie asked, walking towards the surgeon that was sat in a chair at the reception. “Dad usually picks us up.”

“Your headteacher wants to have a meeting about your attendance.” She huffed, watching all three kids sit in front of her. “Your dad’s stuck at work. Literally, over a patient.”

“So you’re like our parent?” Mikey stuttered, Jac raising her eyebrows at the boy.

“Wouldn’t go that far.” She sighed, tapping her foot impatiently. A few seconds later the teacher did walk in, calling for Mr. Fletcher.

“He’s not here.” Jac said, walking up to the shorter lady.

“Well I asked for the meeting for him and his children.”

“Well he’s a nurse and stuck at the hospital so I’ll have to do.” She said, the kids smiling behind her.

“Ms. Naylor I spoke to you earlier. If he is not here then I cannot give out private information about the children.”

“Understood, but you can either have this meeting now with me or we can call Mr. Fletcher out of the operation, leaving the team without a theatre nurse, risking the patient’s life. It’s up to you.” The teacher stuttered slightly at Jac’s response, composing herself and then asking her and the children to follow her into the office.

They sat there for a while, Jac in the middle with Mikey and Ella on one side and Evie on the other.

“Between them, Mikey, Ella and Evie Fletcher have a 96% attendance rate.” The teacher said, causing Jac to pay attention.

“Okay so what is the problem?” Jac asked, looking at the children who weren’t paying attention.

“That’s the lowest attendance rate in the school.” She sighed, showing Jac the paper work.

“It says collectively they have missed 7 days.”

“Yes.”

“In a year? That’s nothing.” Jac sighed, putting the papers back down on the desk.

“Since January. They have missed seven days since January and we are only at the end of May.” The teacher was short and brunette, her skin showing her old age. The office was dark, brown wood covering the room from the flooring to the furniture.

“Right. And their grades?” She asked, the children perking up, listening to the concern in her voice.

“Mikey is at a grade B, Ella the same, Evie between an A and a B, if it wasn’t for the sciences the kids would be fine.”

“So if they’re getting good grades regardless of the few days they missed, what is the issue?” She asked, her patience deteriorating from the boring and mundane situation.

“I am concerned the kids haven’t got support at home.” She blurted, her eyes focused on the notes in front of her.

“Excuse me?”

“Their father is busy, I don’t know much about you Ms. Naylor, but I see that you care for the children, my job is just to make sure they’re safe.” She tried to form a smile, watching the expression of the ginger-haired lady change from boredom to anger in seconds.

“Their father is the director of nursing, I am a surgeon, we are busy. We make it work. The kids are healthy, they do their homework, they miss the odd day because we’re saving lives. They’re happy.” She said, her voice raising as she stood up, her pager starting to bleep.

“I have to go.” She said, looking at the children to stand. “I feel like this has been productive, we will try and reduce the number of days they aren’t here.” She said, rushing the kids to the door.

“I want a follow up meeting in a few months.” She said, handing Jac some paperwork.

“What is this?”

“Their school reports, since you’re so involved.” The teacher said bitterly.

Jac gave her a small smile, rushing the kids outside and taking a look at the papers in her hand. “If she’s not careful I’ll shove these up-“ She was interrupted by Fletch calling her name from across the hall.

“Oh nice of you to show up.” She said, looking at her pager and then her phone, an emergency operation was needed for a collapsed lung. “I have to go.” She said, passing the children to Fletch.

“I can’t take them, I’ve got Emma and Theo in the car, there’s not enough room.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“Okay, who wants to come to the hospital?” She asked the three kids stood in front of her, Mikey and Evie raising their hands and following her out.

“How did it go?” Fletch shouted after her, sensing that she probably rolled her eyes in response.

“I’ll tell you later.” She yelled, running with the two kids to her car. She got to the hospital fifteen minutes later, rushing in with both kids just behind her, shoving them in her office and letting them know she will be as quick as possible. She ran down to the theatre, tying her hair up and grabbing one of her scrub caps from the laundry room on the way, to find Frieda having everything under control.

“Did you really need me?” She asked, scrubbing in anyway.

“Yes, look.” There was a lot of bleeding causing Jac to move Frieda aside, telling her to watch from the assist side of the table.

“See what I’m doing?” She watched the registrar who was watching Jac work.

“Can I try?” She asked, Jac moving over so that Frieda could get beside her, taking over.

“Go slowly, don’t rush it.” She said, suctioning gently around Frieda’s stitches. “Okay it isn’t holding, pass it back.” She said, taking the instruments from Frieda who watched her again.

“What did I do wrong?”

“You’ve never done it before, it takes practice.” She shrugged, fixing the bleed completely this time. “We’re in the clear. Can you close?” She asked Frieda moments later, watching her nod and move back into position. Jac left theatre then, knowing that there was no need to stay and watch. She ran back upstairs, dropping her scrub cap off again and walking towards her office, hearing two voices.

“You know it’s been nearly two months since Jac’s been properly around.” She heard Mikey huff, presumably laying on the sofa.

“I checked to see if they stay in the same bed and they don’t, one of them always stays on the sofa.” Evie sighed, Jac leaning against the doorway to hear the conversation between the two children.

“She isn’t there when we wake up.”

“My friend asked me if Dad had a girlfriend today.” She heard Evie whisper.

“What did you say?”

“I said no, but yes. He has a girlfriend he just doesn’t call her his girlfriend.” She said, Jac letting out a small laugh.

“I think Jac’s more than dad’s girlfriend.” She heard Mikey whisper, moving over to his sister. “I think he’s in love with her.”

Jac left for five minutes, coming back to get the children home. They were home by half past six, Jac walking into Fletch’s house to see him carrying both Emma and Theo on his waist.

“Tired?” She whispered, moving to run a hand through Emma’s hair.

“I just found them asleep on the sofa.” He whispered, making his way to the stairs. He had made a small dinner and the three older kids tidied it up again allowing Jac to get changed and come back downstairs to find a cup of tea made for her in her ‘family’ mug she got for her birthday. She stood up in front of them in the living room, holding the report that the teacher gave her.

“So. You’re all doing fine in English and languages and sport.” She said, pointing to the report as Fletch stood next to her.

“Are you all failing biology and maths?” She continued, flipping the page over.

“No Jac a ‘C” isn’t a fail it’s a pass.” He whispered in her ear.

“It’s still their worst ones.” She huffed, “That’s got to change.” She said watching them. She didn’t know why she cared so much about their grades, she just knew that she wanted them to have the best, and therefore the best grades. That was the end of the conversation, Jac passing Fletch the report and sitting on the sofa.

They repeated the same cycle again the following day, although it was a Saturday which made things a little difficult. Jac and Fletch went into work, Steven offering to take the kids for the day, even Emma. She wasn’t too keen on that, but she knew that she was happy playing with Theo, and therefore agreed. Fletch’s day was shorter than normal, his shift being a 8-4 and him miraculously getting out on time. Jac didn’t though, her day being filled by appraisals and reviewing her team and resources. She knew most of her team were expendable, especially Dr. Dunn who was still banned from theatre, but she wasn’t willing to let go of anyone just yet. She managed to squeeze in an elective at some point throughout the day but there was this unexplainable longing to be at home. She loved her job and she wouldn’t give it up for a child or a relationship. Definitely not a relationship, but she was starting to feel happy at home as well as at the hospital. It wasn’t because she didn’t feel happy with just Emma, she did, she loved Emma more than anything, but all of them together, on the sofa or having dinner, she couldn’t explain it. She didn’t need to explain it either, she just felt it. The feeling that she could perhaps finish some work at Fletch’s house, instead of staying longer. Although somehow it had got to nearly ten o’clock at night as she was folding her papers away, chucking a few in her bag. She had a day off tomorrow and it was the day before Jonny had Emma for a week, something she hated. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind as she got in her car, deciding on whether or not she should go to her house or to Fletch’s. The thought only lingered for a moment, her realising that of course she was going to go to Fletch’s. There was a drop in her stomach when she looked at the time, 10:31 sat on the screen of her car, knowing that all the kids would be in bed, possibly even Fletch too. She walked in the house, they’d given one another keys to each other’s houses, so that regardless of whatever time they finished work, they could get in.

She walked in to the silent house, there was no one about, no noises or movement. She chucked her bag at the bottom of the stairs, gently running up to grab some pyjama’s from Fletch’s room. She peaked in to see Emma fast asleep, Theo and her daughter head-to-toe in bed. They were best friends, they loved sharing a bedroom together and they slept, usually, without any complaints. There was no one in Fletch’s room though as she slipped on a pair of his joggers and his hoodie, leaving her scrubs in a small pile. She tried not to make any noise as she walked back down the stairs, the house completely silent. She turned to walk into the living room, forgetting to check where the rest of the kids were. She soon found out though as she stepped into the lounge, seeing all four of them cuddled together, Fletch barely awake, the other’s whispering to one another.

“You’re home!” She heard Ella say, her voice breaking the whispers and shaking Fletch out of his semi-conscious state.

“What are you guys doing? It’s nearly eleven.” She sighed, watching them all scramble to their feet.

“They wanted to wait until you got home.” Fletch said, letting out a soft yawn.

“I’m home.” She smiled, the kids making room for her on the sofa. “You know you’re all going to bed right?” She said as she sat down, resting her head on the soft cushion.

“Five minutes.” Mikey said as he nestled his neck into Jac’s arm.

“What’s the plan tomorrow?” Fletch asked Jac, looking at her over the children. “My shift starts at eight until two, I can get Steven to take the kids again?” He suggested, watching her focus on his words.

“I’m off tomorrow.” She shrugged, untying her hair gently so that she didn’t move the boy that was cuddled into her.

“So, do you want…?”

“Yeah I’ll stay here with the kids.” She sighed, she didn’t recognise the words coming out of her mouth, it was just her first thought.

“Okay then.” He smiled, kissing his daughter on the head. “Are we all ready for bed?” He asked his children who mumbled a yes to him, getting off the sofa and walking to their room. They mumbled their goodnights to Jac too, who responded with the same words, cuddling into the blanket.

“See you in the morning?” Fletch said as he picked up the cushions that roamed the floor, placing a few next to Jac.

“Yeah.” She said as he walked past her, leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead and walking out. “Fletch?” She whispered loudly, watching him walk backwards into the room. “They waited until I got home?” She asked, his face brightening into a smile.

“They did.” He said, walking out and to his room. She had to fight the urge to go up with him, watching his smile disappear with him, she also had to fight the urge to grab Emma and just run. Run as far and as fast as she could, save herself and Emma from the possibility of this all falling to shit. She fought it though, she thought that maybe, if she gave it a chance, it might not fall to shit. It maybe, potentially, quite possibly, might fucking work.


End file.
